Gold Coast Titans

In March 1999, the Gold Coast Bid team was formed in an attempt to bring an NRL team back to the Gold Coast. Headed by Michael Searle, Managing Director of International Sports Australia and experienced rugby league administrator Paul Broughton, the bid team was active in lobbying the NRL to both expand the competition and consider the Gold Coast’s bid for inclusion.

In the six years that the Gold Coast Bid Team was established, they presented a compelling case to the NRL. The business plan was lauded by NRL board member and Sydney Roosters Chairman Nick Politis as the most comprehensive document ever seen in Australian professional sport. Ernst and Young and the Gold Coast City Council Planning and Economic department also reviewed the document favourably.

The Gold Coast hosted NRL trial matches from 2002-2005 and those served as the platform for conveying community support for a Gold Coast team to the NRL. National Rugby League Chief Executive David Gallop said at the time: “Trial games are an opportunity for people to vote with their feet. The response the Gold Coast gets to those games is certainly one of the things we would look at”.

With average attendances of over 16,000, and peak attendances topping 20,000, the NRL could not dispute the popularity of live rugby league on the Gold Coast. The consortium also secured investors who backed the team to the tune of $15 million. Ian Buchanan, the Gold Coast Titans’ Manager of Operations, Marketing and Media, has stated that this is ‘over and above’ the operating costs of a new club.

A significant hurdle facing the Consortium, and one that had to be overcome to secure the club’s licence – was the requirement for an upgraded stadium for the Gold Coast Rugby League team. The Bid Team lobbied Local, State and Federal Governments for funding to upgrade the outdated facility at Carrara. They were successful in securing this, but more importantly, were also able to gain a guarantee from the State Government for the construction of a purpose built facility at Robina – now known as Skilled Park.

In August 2004, the board of the National Rugby League met to consider licence applications from the three potential expansion franchises, Wellington, the Central Coast and the Gold Coast. In a decision that shook the Bid Team to its foundations, the board rejected all three applications.

Ultimately, this decision served only to galvanise the resolve of the Gold Coast Bid Team. The next morning, Michael Searle was back in the office, on the phone to the NRL determining just where his bid had fallen short. Acting on the subsequent advice, the bid team went about strengthening their proposal while the other contenders slipped away. It soon became apparent that this was a one horse race, and only the NRL board stood in the way of the Gold Coast’s inclusion into the NRL.

After more successful trail games in early 2005, speculation mounted that an NRL decision on expansion was imminent. Another board meeting at NRL headquarters on the morning of Friday May 27th 2005 proceeded a phone call from David Gallop to Michael Searle…telling him that “you’re in.”

The decision was made public in front of 20,000 fans at Gold Coast Stadium that evening, as the Gold Coast hosted another successful game, this time an NRL premiership fixture between the North Queensland Cowboys and Canterbury Bulldogs.

The Gold Coast Titans completed a vigorous recruitment drive for their inaugural season which secured the services of such established NRL stars as Preston Campbell (a former member of the Gold Coast Chargers), Scott Prince, Luke Bailey and dual international Mat Rogers. The Titans also secured an impressive portfolio of both local and national sponsors, further indicating the growth of the local commercial sector and the depth of interest in investing here.