Queensland’s latest state of the art sporting venue opened its doors to the media today ahead of an official launch this weekend.

Premier Anna Bligh will formally open the state’s newest stadium on Sunday at a family day hosted by the Gold Coast Suns.

Paul Smeaton reports.

TRANSCRIPT

The seats are in, the turf is laid, and the days of the ‘bad news bears’ will be a distant memory, when Carrara Stadium re-opens later this month under its new name Metricon Stadium.

The new Gold Coast Suns home ground will be almost unrecognisable to foundation members of the Brisbane Bears, with only the six light towers remaining from the original design.

Travis Auld, Gold Coast Suns CEO: “It’s the final piece in the puzzle. The players have been talking about coming home for some time to play at their home stadium and to build a real rivalry here and make it a difficult place to come and play against the Suns.”

The community is set to be the big winner, with the stadium designed with much more than just AFL in mind.

Queensland’s newest stadium is a multi-purpose venue that hosts everything from sporting events to concerts. The venue will also be upgraded should the Gold Coast win the rights to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

The stadium will seat 25,000 fans and boasts some unique features not available at any other AFL venues.

The Coaches Field Club will offer the ultimate fan experience with supporters able to view the home team’s preparations from the luxury of a catered bar.

Travis Auld, Gold Coast Suns CEO: “It’s turned out this stadium to be everything we could have hoped it to be, it looks like, it feels like the Gold Coast. It’s different, there’s no doubt about that. It’s not a standard AFL Stadium.”

The Suns will get a chance to rise to the occasion when they take on ladder leaders Geelong on May 28 in front of a sell-out crowd.

Paul Smeaton, QUT News.