Making A Case For A-League Expansion: Gold Coast

Brad and Sogg are finally back together on the couch after the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in NSW. Today the boys chat about whether an expansion team in Gold Coast can work. Make sure to leave a like, comment and subscribe - we're pushing for 400 subscribers by the start of the 2021-22 A-League Men's season.
Link to the article Brad mention's in the video: www.tribalfoot...
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[@codycommandeur123]

I know there's so many NSW teams already but I want to see Wolves in the comp!

[@TOTN17]

Won't happen, Wolves are to unstable a club fiscally and Wollongong is a smaller Market then the Central Coast, Wolves will likley be frontrunners for NSD instead

[@chad2321]

@@TOTN17 If the Wolves could get a decent ownership structure then they’d be bigger than the Mariners (not that that’s hard), but yeah agree the footage dollar isn’t big on the south coast.

[@TOTN17]

@@chad2321 I spoke to a former Wolves player who was involved in earlier Wolves bids and he thinks the money isnt there and that they would have to average 10K attendances just to break even which for the Region is just unrealistic in there opinion

[@alexaccini3145]

I would argue that wolves have proven that they don’t have a fan base to tap into. Very few fans at the nix games at the stadium last season and even when Wollongong have made NPL finals and FFA cup games they never draw a crowd

[@chad2321]

@@alexaccini3145 why would Wolves fans go to Nix home games though. Judging a fan base by how many go to watch a different team is strange. Not many went to the Mariners ‘home’ games in Canberra, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have a team.

[@zaif4200]

Great vid lads

[@tonycalabria5592]

Canberra and Wollongong are my top 2 picks for expansion, but I wouldn't mind if Gold Coast got in

[@SamDoesGamez]

Canberra and Gold Coast for me, and here's why: - Canberra: Lock it in. Already a women's team, capital city of Australia, a lot of young footballers in the area, ready made stadium, etc. - Gold Coast: Without Clive running the show, it will be a successful club. Beautiful stadium, sets up a derby with the Roar, a PROPER derby as well, QLD is too big to just have one club in it. Huge population as well to support a club, would really love this to happen.

[@paulorocky]

As a former resident of SEQ I’m not so sure about the Gold Coast: 1. Sporting stadiums miles from activity centres (namely the strip between Broadbeach and Southport) which may impair pre/post-match atmosphere and discourage casual fans 2. Competition with other attractions, the A-League is a summer league and the lures of the beach and theme parks at that time of the year are very strong 3. The struggles of the Titans and Suns from more commercially established codes suggest that going to sporting events isn’t culturally ingrained into the local psyche Though it must be said Clive Palmer never got involved for football but to raise his public profile. His political party has been a flop too. Lol

[@TOTN17]

Once the Light Rail to Coolangatta is finished its likely a Spur Line to Robina will be built to make it even eaiser to get to the Strip from Robina where CBUS is

[@ALeagueCouchCritics]

Yeah the infrastructure could be a big win

[@TOTN17]

@@ALeagueCouchCritics transport has improved on the gold coast a lot since the days united were in the league and its getting even better you don't even have to touch a bus to get to the strip now, the long term plan is to have both light and heavy rail to the airport with the light rail having spur lines to places like Robina and Nerang

[@crazylesfarkas4486]

Good Day BRAD & SOOG

[@TOTN17]

I reckon 2nd NZ team should be the next Expansion discussion video

[@ALeagueCouchCritics]

Might be worth a chat. Not sure on how good their chances are

[@TOTN17]

@@ALeagueCouchCritics If not for the FA's Veto Power the race for slot 14 would be very interesting but since they do have it and the FA did not veto a Nix women's team its all but certain that the FA would veto expansion into NZ this time around, places like Wollongong and Tasmania IMO have no chance

[@Prolix8]

From press speculation, the next aleague will be Canberra and then a Tasmanian team (unclear where). Gold Coast would be a great addition tbf.

[@fcsundays]

Great video again lads! Canberra is all but confirmed but I think South Coast has to be next. They're crying out for a team

[@InTheMixer]

It would have to be Canberra and Tasmania as sure things for the 13th and 14th sides, as they would both be successful from day one. We have to learn from what has and has not worked with WU & Macarthur, and we need to beat other codes into new areas. Wollongong also a great shout, but I think NSW is pretty saturated at the moment. Gold Coast come into it in the 15th and 16th spot conversations, probably competing with a second Brisbane/Adelaide/Perth team.

[@ALeagueCouchCritics]

Not so sure Tas is learning from mistakes. Could be more risk than others but it's worth exploring. Got to watch out for over saturation, but if we ever do get to pro/rel that argument has to go out the window because if the best 10 teams are all from syd/Melbourne then that's the merit they've earned

[@InTheMixer]

The biggest lesson from WU & Macarthur, and to a lesser extent Heart/WSW is that Expansion sides need clearly defined regions and audiences from the very beginning, my personal opinion is that Canberra & Tasmania would have that more than GC. Pro/Rel and the NSD is a different discussion from Expansion though, as I think some clubs would be better suited to an NSD rather than the immediate cost increase of the A-League, none of the teams really profit, so you need that commercial or ownership backing in the early years to make it work. Most of it is mute at this point I don't think any Football fan is turning down any of the options, the league definitely needs to grow and get more games in the calendar, if GC get announced tomorrow, it will still be worth celebrating.

[@tobyschofield5515]

I think the areas that should be looked at for expansion are Canberra, Wollongong, gold coast, Tasmania and New Zealand. I also think northern territory could be an outside shot just because they have no pro sports teams but would be very risky

[@TOTN17]

The Smallest Market in the A-League is the Central Coast with 337K people The markets that are larger then the Central Coast that are not in the A-League are Auckland with 1.5 Million, Gold Coast with 709K, Canberra with 464K, Christchurch with 404K and the Sunshine Coast with 348K Wollongong has a population of 309K, Hobart 219K and Darwin just 133K

[@angusbird3302]

@@TOTN17 tassie would be statewide, making the market 450k. A few games in Launceston would bring in all the people from Launceston and Devonport, engaging the three biggest population centres in tassie. Do agree that Darwin is very risky and Wollongong would have to rely on some decent away support from other nsw clubs. Canberra, Gold Coast, Tassie and Auckland imo should be the 4 to complete the first division

[@TOTN17]

@@angusbird3302 Tasmania also has the glaring Issue of only 14K registered players in the entire state

[@tobyschofield5515]

@Lucas Poulos that's why I said they were an outside shout just because they have no other pro teams. All the other places I listed should definitely come before NT

[@TOTN17]

@@tobyschofield5515 Toowoomba has a Larger Population then Darwin, Darwin is to small and Isolated to have a team

[@TOTN17]

I met a Former Wollongong Wolves player the other day on a matter unrelated to football but we spoke about the A-League and Expansion into Wollongong, Canberra, Gold Coast and Auckland This is What he Said Canberra: Lack of Community Support Wollongong: Lack of Community Support and other Professional Sports Teams in the Area are Struggling Gold Coast: On the Fence due to what happened with Palmer but liked that there was intrest from Jordan Gardner Auckland: Only one he was on board with due to the size of the City and cited Nix Attendance's at Eden Park as part of his reasoning

[@chad2321]

I think the GC could work, but I think a major detractor for them is the location of their stadium. That comparison to SydFC being able to go to a game then hit the town may not be comparable because (as you’d guys know) Moore Park is quite central, whereas everything I’ve read is that Robina is out of the way. Kind of like our current home ground at Kogarah, haha

[@TOTN17]

Light Rail from Helensvale gets people to the strip plus with the Olympics coming to SEQ a Spur Line from Robina to the Strip will likely be a Priority after the main line to the Coolangatta is done

[@chad2321]

@@TOTN17 so the Olympics may actually provide some benefit…

[@chad2321]

But it still doesn’t fix the problem that you can’t really get a meal and/or drink within walking distance of the stadium, which was more the comparison to Moore Park in Sydney

[@TOTN17]

@@chad2321 There is a Pub at Helensvale Town Centre which is across the Road from Helensvale Station which is only 2 stops on the train from Robina

[@chad2321]

@@TOTN17 so you need to catch a train 2 stops to some suburban pub if you want a drink after the match. That’s barely enticing, actually worse than Kogarah Oval and that’s terrible

[@TOTN17]

13: Canberra in the Men's and Marcathur in the Women's 14: Gold Coast as its the Largest Aussie market without a team through I think it will be a new franchise while United will join the NSD 15: Auckland as its the only untapped market will over 1 million people left in Australasia 16: Sunshine Coast only Aussie Market left after Gold Coast and Canberra with a larger population then the Central Coast and the only Professional Sport in the area is Netball

[@liammurphy3811]

surely South Melbourne gets a license one day.

[@TOTN17]

With the Elitist Attitude South Melbourne has not to mention it would be encroaching on the Territory of 3 existing clubs it won't happen, South's should be front runners for NSD through

[@ALeagueCouchCritics]

They should at least be in with a chance, big history but I think second div is more likely for them

[@liammurphy3811]

@@ALeagueCouchCritics That would definitely be the least that should be given to the them

[@TOTN17]

@Lucas Poulos there is at best 4 licenses left and non are going to be given to existing markets as the APL members isn't gonna let clubs encroach on there territory, Western United got in because of money plain and simple

[@crazylesfarkas4486]

Must have Canberra/Queanbeyan, Then Wollongong, Auckland and 2nd Queensland side. That’s the 16 A-League Men’s, Then A-L 2 with 12-14 sides with P&R.

[@Daniel-cp1pg]

I read somewhere that the AAFC are looking at Gold Coast United to be one of the founding clubs in the national second division. I feel like if Gold Coast gets another A league licence it will be a new franchise.

[@ourresidentcockney8776]

It will be interesting if a fresh round of Gold Coast expansion does equate to a new creation outright or a continuation of CGU. Palmer definitely killed off GCU and certainly, they would have done well under vaguely competent owners. If it is a new side. Whatever a branding department will come up with will be interesting. CGU published an interesting statement relatively recently about their desires for expansion and so on. So perhaps they know something we don't...

[@ALeagueCouchCritics]

Yeah they really shouldn't have ever crumbled. It was a bad time for the league and something we're not seeing happen with WU, even though some would want them kicked, we've got to give teams the chance to flourish.

[@ourresidentcockney8776]

@@ALeagueCouchCritics that's perhaps the greatest issue between the shift in attitudes of FFA into FA. Instead of expecting things to just happen, they're now letting things grow and develop. Of course, this has its own issues vis-à-vis WU. Definitely easy to see why they naturally piss off a lot of people and I do feel sorry for their fanbase. They were sold a dream and only got half the story. Chances are, by the time WU does get expelled for failing to meet their agreement, we probably would have some sort of pro/rel.

[@LeafWasp]

What about 14 new teams and a whole new second divison? Gold Coast United Canberra South Melbourne Marconi Stallions Adelaide City Hobart(Based on South Hobart football team) Perth Football club North Queensland Fury Darwin Auckland Wollongong Cairns Sydney Olympic Dandenong Knights ( based on Melbourne Knights) Liverpool Fc ( with strong connection with Liverpool FC and Fenway sporting group) Same colours! Based in Liverpool Sydney.

[@ALeagueCouchCritics]

I like the ide, maybe some tweaks. Don't know why you'd have to change Melbourne knights to Dandenong if you're going to keep old ethnic clubs like Marconi and south Melbourne. Tbh I don't think NZ would even get a look in for NSD if money and travel are the big financial concerns. Having a second div and starting with 14-16 teams straight away would be great and I hope it happens soo . Would prefer a complete home and away season but feel the conference system may be FA's preferred, maybe a North and south with Vic, SA, Tas and Wa in the south comp and Can,Nsw, Qld and NT in the other with top 2-4 from each conference entering a finals format

[@LeafWasp]

I like my idea better. Liverpool ?

[@ALeagueCouchCritics]

Liverpool down the track maybe... but they sit in the middle of Macarthur and Wsw areas. There's definitely enough people in south west Sydney for a team, but it's also pretty close to Marconi, who are more likely to represent that area. Plus I doubt Liverpool are keen on sponsoring a small aus club. But that's what the future could hold, these kinds of dreams coming true

[@LeafWasp]

@@ALeagueCouchCritics Looking at the crowd that turned up for the liverpool match at the MCG it certainly needs to be investigated. Piggy banking our league on the success of tge premier league sbould be closely looked at. Perhaps no too Marconi. Broken Hill? Due to our geography we need teams in regional areas so the youth have access to quality coaching.

[@BenDover-xv9lo]

id put 4 teams in a league ( Canberra, Auckland, Hobart & Gold Coast) and make a 16 team B-League with wolves, Syd united, Preston and more ppl teams (no new franchise)

[@Prolix8]

A decent plan moving forward this

[@TOTN17]

Sydney Uniteds fans are far to problematic

[@ALeagueCouchCritics]

Interesting mix there. 16 would be ideal size (30 game home and away) and then mirror that with a second div

[@lukebilby4409]

I say this with respect, but auckland has a bee's dicks change of getting a side before the league reaches a hypothetical 20 clubs. Unless a billionaire owner came onto the scene demanding an auckland club or else no investment, i can see 0 reason for the FA or APL to want to include an additional NZ side. Theres already conflict with the AFC over including the nix currently, why rock that boat further? Also, what talent pool is in NZ that we are missing out on? Wellington already host half the nz national team, having an auckland team wont magically improve australian football other than offering a few spots in the auckland squad to youngsters. Why not just take a punt on fremantle/bris2/adel2/tassie/wollongong where theyd want to have spots for 20 aussie kids. It isnt the APL's job to ensure nz football improves. I can understand and will defend 1 team existing to create a pathway for extra competition, but having 2 teams is ridiculous, you may as well be picking a jakarta or bali based team like sage wanted given their population is larger and it introduces an actual asian club which likely attracts much more commercial appeal than another nz team