Guy McKenna would continue to coach the team throughout the 2011 season and beyond, after successfully guiding the club through its journey in the TAC Cup and VFL in 2009 and 2010. [11] On 3 June 2008, Fred Taplin announced that the Gold Coast Galaxy had dropped out of the race for the Gold Coast licence and a place in the A-League 'in the interests of football'. Six days later the Gold Coast Suns hosted their first home match at the redeveloped Carrara Stadium against the Geelong Cats in front of a sell out crowd. Other sponsors to have appeared on United's strip include Modern Solar,[21] WAECO[22] and Westpac.[23]. [7] Marquee AFL players such as Nick Riewoldt,[8] Lance Franklin[9] and Kurt Tippett[10] were speculated as potential signings for Gold Coast, though all three men ended up re-signing with their existing clubs. The final head-to-head record for Gold Coast was 4 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses. Players, coaches, referees and officials of GC United, including junior members. However, this did not happen, and Palmer retained control of the club. The first QClash was held in 2011, with Gold Coast winning by 8 points; the game established the highest pay TV audience ever for an AFL game, with a total of 354,745 viewers watching the game.[59]. Their fourteen losses to start the season was the worst by any team since Fremantle lost its first 17 matches of the 2001 season. [16], The club's newly assembled junior squad competed in the 2009 TAC Cup under 18 competition and won most of their games, eventually finishing in 5th place. The $144.2 million upgrade would increase the stadium capacity to 25,000. The earliest incarnation of the club formed in 1966 and its home ground was at Nikiforides Family Park in Broadbeach. The current uniform and badge for the third era of the club retains similar colours with the badge appearing as a more refined shield shape and depiction of the modern Surfers Paradise skyline along with a distinct curling wave in a lighter tone of blue. The local rival Galaxy consortium's chances of entering the A-League were dealt a severe blow in June 2008 when the United consortium headed by real estate and mining businessman Clive Palmer entered talks with the FFA. The first era of Gold Coast United senior teams competed in the Brisbane leagues until the club disbanded after the 1979 season, allowing Broadbeach United Soccer Club to form its first senior team in 1980 at the same grounds. In June 2018 the Suns introduced their new mascot, "Skye". Gold Coast Touch Association Incorporated is a not-for-profit Touch Football club located at Owen Park, Southport. We must work well with those who govern us and support their objectives. [2] The team is based in the Gold Coast suburb of Carrara and play matches at Carrara Stadium (known for commercial purposes as "Metricon Stadium") and train at the adjacent Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre. Under Dew, the Suns adopted a draft strategy of recruiting young players, which in part contributed to a second-last finish in 2018 and last place finish in 2019, the latter being the club's second wooden spoon. [15] On 22 July 2010 club administrators announced that the club would be known as the Gold Coast Suns, and adopt the colours red, gold and blue. The press conference was held at Robina Stadium, further reinforcing the suggestion that the new franchise will play at the 27,000 capacity stadium. In the 2013 AFL season Gold Coast made a much improved effort, highlighted by victories over seasoned opponents in Collingwood, St Kilda, the Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne. Gold Coast United FC is an association football (soccer) club based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Their horror start to the season ended in round 16 with a narrow 2-point win against Richmond. After the siren sounded he kicked the goal to make Gold Coast 2 point winners.[35]. The first level of the “X” Player Rule was utilized at the Senior (12-14) division in the 2008 and 2009 seasons. The redeveloped Carrara Stadium (commercially known as Metricon Stadium) was officially opened on 22 May 2011 by Queensland Premier Anna Bligh. The plaque's inscription reads from left to right, "Brisbane Lions AFC", "QCLASH", "Gold Coast Suns FC". However, the Suns also suffered several more very heavy defeats during the year, including a 139-point loss to Essendon in Round 6 – in which Essendon scored a record 15.4 (94) in the first quarter – and a 150-point loss against Geelong in Round 20. [2], AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou announced the club could debut in the Queensland State League in 2009 as it recruited players and prepared for its debut season in the AFL, which the league scheduled for 2011. Gold Coast FC does things the right way: #TheGoldCoastWay! In 2009 the newly reformed team and club adopted the same colours, which closely resembled the original blue and gold of the 1960s era – being yellow and royal blue. Gold Coast United had a relationship with the Gold Coast United Supporters Club (GCUSC),[27] the major supporter group following the club situated in Bay 30 at games during the club's A-League period. Gold Coast endured a poor pre-season in 2012 which included a 13-point loss to fellow AFL newcomers Greater Western Sydney. These players included Luke Russell (Burnie), Maverick Weller (Burnie), Taylor Hine (Calder), Josh Toy (Calder), Matt Shaw (Dandenong), Piers Flanagan (Geelong), Hayden Jolly (Glenelg), Alex Keath (Murray), Jack Hutchins (Sandringham), Tom Nicholls (Sandringham), Brandon Matera (South Fremantle), Trent McKenzie (Western Jets). Skip to main content. A new $172 million stadium in Helensvale was a strongly considered option. The original grounds for the club were at Nikiforides Family Park in Broadbeach, the current home of Broadbeach United Soccer Club. The club continued to grow throughout a 13-year period and became a regular feature in the sports media pages of Brisbane and Gold Coast newspapers before disbanding in 1979. In 1966 the club was formed with the first team consisting of players from varying nationalities and backgrounds, all seeking to take the first Gold Coast based football team north with a view to be a representative side playing in the Brisbane competitions of the day which were considered at the time to be stronger than the Gold Coast competitions.