Gold Coast Sports Precinct

The Gold Coast Sports Precinct is a series of sports facilities and venues, located on the Gold Coast, Queensland, in Australia.

The precinct has hosted professional sports such as Australian rules football, baseball, basketball, cricket, rugby league and rugby union in the past. It will host the athletics, badminton, weightlifting and wrestling events in the 2018 Commonwealth Games as well as the opening and closing ceremonies.

The site of the precinct is on the former farming property 'Birribon' owned by the Cooper family and frequently visited by Sydney Barber Josiah Skertchly.

In 1983 the Nerang Bulls Rugby Union Club began using Carrara Oval but relocated to Nerang a year later. In 1986 it was announced the Brisbane Bears were granted a licence to enter the Victorian Football League and Billionaire owner Christopher Skase decided to base the team at Carrara Oval. Skase redeveloped the oval into a stadium with makeshift stands intended to maximize television viewership. By the beginning of the 1987 VFL season, the newly created Carrara Stadium would hold a maximum seated capacity of 16,500.

In 1989, Skase orchestrated the instalment of $6 million flood lights which were never paid for. Upon the collapse of Skase's company Qintex, he would flee the country to Spain and the flood lights would continue to be unpaid. Liquidators would attempt to extract money from the Gold Coast City Council for the lights, but after an unsuccessful trial it was found cheaper to leave the flood lights at Carrara Stadium. On 15 July 1989 the Bears hosted the first ever night match at Carrara against the Geelong Cats in front of a then record crowd of 18,198.

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