Gold Coast is Titans Town

THE Gold Coast Titans brand has come to dominate the city's sporting market, outstripping its rivals by a big margin.

Even though both the Gold Coast Blaze and Gold Coast United enjoyed the Finals Series in their respective competitions, the Gold Coast's NRL club has taken an overwhelming lead in the city's lucrative sports branding market.

Results from the Big Gold Coast Survey tabulated by Q&A Research showed that 92 per cent of respondents considered the Titans franchise the most successful in improving the city's sporting profile.

In accompanying results, which allowed multiple responses from those surveyed, the survey found only 9 per cent named the Gold Coast Football Club AFL franchise followed by Gold Coast United and Gold Coast Blaze.

Gold Coast Titans chairman Paul Broughton said he was buoyed by the survey results. Mr Broughton said, "A club like the Titans gave the Gold Coast community an identity, we looked at what the Newcastle Knights and Brisbane Broncos had done in uniting their cities and that is what we wanted to replicate."

Sixty-two per cent of people surveyed rated the Titans home semi-final against the Brisbane Broncos as the third-most important event on the Coast last year.
That semi-final was beaten only by Magic Millions and Gold Coast Marathon. Mr Broughton said "The club prides itself on its connection with the community,"
He also said that the club had worked hard to connect with the local community with visits to schools and fundraising events.

Mr Broughton said his tip was that the GCFC would be heavily supported by the AFL when it made its debut in the AFL Premiership in 2011. Stating, "I can't see them failing with the amount of money behind them."

Martin Winter, Gold Coast Tourism CEO, said that the four national sports teams had injected new life into the city. "The Titans have created some great opportunities for bringing tourists to the Gold Coast," said Mr Winter. "They have done a magnificent job in putting the destination in the minds of hundreds of thousands of sports mad fans throughout Queensland and NSW."

Mr Winter said he expected the GCFC franchise would continue to grow the sports tourism market. "We are fully expecting the same sort of impact to come from the new AFL team," he said. Mr Winter also said that sports tourism would be a focus for Gold Coast Tourism. "This city now not only has four national sports teams, it also boasts one of the highest sports participation levels."