Attracting First Class Events to the Moreton Bay Region

Redcliffe Dolphins RLFC – Moreton Daily Stadium

It’s all happening on the Redcliffe Peninsula this year, particularly if you are a sports fan. During the thick of the Covid period in early 2020, the Redcliffe Dolphins Club penned a deal with the Brisbane Roar A-League and W-League teams that would see soccer played on the hallowed rugby league ground from December 2020. Redcliffe Dolphins General Manager of Football Operations Grant Cleal said,

“Having the Roar using Moreton Daily Stadium has been one of the best moves we have made, and it was a realisation of why the stadium was built in the first place, to attract first class events to the Moreton Bay Region”.

The venue had dipped its toe in the water with the round ball game being played a couple of times in previous years by hosting FFA Cup fixtures and the odd A-League match. But the Dolphins, Roar and Moreton Daily Stadium seem to be enjoying the partnership and the benefits it has brought to all involved, as well as the Moreton Bay community.

“The feedback from the Roar and the FFA has always been very positive, the players absolutely love the venue and in particular the heightened atmosphere that comes from a crowd that are seated very close to the field. The players love the TifTuf playing surface also”, Cleal added.

The right grass is paramount when you imagine the traffic the playing area has to cope with. Among the dozen A-League matches, the venue was scheduled to host two NRL trials at the start of the 2021 season. They are also heading into their own rugby league season competing in the Queensland Rugby League Major Competitions, where they control senior teams from the state-wide Cyril Connell Cup (under 16’s) to the Intrust Super Cup. This would usually mean hosting four senior rugby league teams on a Saturday evening, then turning out an A-League soccer pitch twelve hours later.

The Queensland Rugby League have also embraced the venue, by locking in the Intrust Super Cup Grand Final day there for the next 3 seasons.

“This amount of usage is probably more than some of the major stadiums around the country at the moment, but we are enjoying the challenges presented when running a multi-use venue. We also have some great support and advice from our suppliers in Lawn Solutions Australia and Twin View Turf to name just a few. Their guidance, along with the quality turf that we planted has helped us enormously”, said Cleal.

Hot on the heels of becoming an A-League home base for the Brisbane Roar, the Redcliffe Dolphins announced an affiliation with the Vodafone NZ Warriors Club. It’s an affiliation that sees fringe NRL players swing back to the Dolphins to compete in the Intrust Super Cup on a weekly basis. It is a deal that will provide benefit to Junior Rugby League and game development in and around the region in what was a big change for the Dolphins. The club had been a partner of the Brisbane Broncos for a decade helping to put the polish on players like Jake Turpin, Kotoni Staggs and Matt Lodge to name a few. They will now look to assist the Warriors in their pursuit of a maiden NRL title and quite possibly host a Warrior’s fixture or two along the way. It’s not hard to see commercial opportunities between New Zealand and the Moreton Bay Region opening up because of this new partnership.

As if they haven’t been busy enough, the Dolphins are making a play at becoming the 17^th team in the NRL. Many consider this to be a very strong bid, which could see the Club successfully transition to the top grade.

“It’s been a goal for the club to play at the highest level possible for some time now and it would be a certainty that our facilities would be one of many advantages in the application process for an NRL franchise”, Cleal said.