The AFL and Gold Coast Football Club today welcomed the announcement by the Queensland Government and Gold Coast City Council of additional funds for the Gold Coast Stadium re-development to build a permanent roof for the southern stand.

When completed in mid 2011, the Stadium will provide a permanent home for the Gold Coast Football Club as well as an outstanding venue for cricket, athletics and other major community and cultural events.

“The AFL is thrilled to see such a great outcome delivered for local sports fans.  We thank Premier Bligh and her Government and the Gold Coast City Council for their outstanding support,” said AFL Chief Operating Officer, Gillon McLachlan.

“The permanent roof for the southern stand enhances the great design for the new Gold Coast stadium. It will ensure that more than 6,000 additional permanent seats are included in the stadium, and that over 75% of spectators will now be able to sit under cover.

“The re-development of the stadium is on time and on budget. It’s a great result for the local community to be able to include environmental outcomes and enhanced facilities for spectators. The AFL is pleased to support this with an additional $3.3 million, bringing our total contribution to the project to $13.3m,” Mr McLachlan said.

The Premier was joined at the announcement by Sports Minister Phil Reeves, Gold Coast City Council Mayor, the Honourable Ron Clarke and Chairman of the Gold Coast Football Club, John Witheriff.

Speaking at the announcement, John Witheriff said: “The Gold Coast Football Club will be very proud to call this new stadium home. The fact that it’s providing so many jobs for local people during construction is fantastic. Combine that with the exceptional facilities for spectators once it’s completed, and this is a great result for the Gold Coast.

“We have recently released our membership packages for 2010, and a key benefit for joining up now is to ensure access to the best seats in the stadium for the AFL games played on the Gold Coast in 2011. So come on Gold Coast, rise up and join us. I can’t wait to sit in the stadium with you and cheer on our team in the national AFL competition,” Mr Witheriff said.

The additional funding by the four funding partners brings the total construction budget to $144 million, up from $126 million