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Gold Coast Origin bid to be discussed
Ed Jackson
15:52 AEST Fri Sep 21 2012

Queensland's major events minister says she is open to discussing a potential bid by the Gold Coast to host a State of Origin match.

Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate says he wants the city to host a fixture in the marquee rugby league series in the lead-up to the 2018 Commonwealth Games, with Melbourne also contemplating trying to nab Origin games from Brisbane.

The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) is believed to be considering selling some Origin hosting rights to the highest bidder and Tate says he's determined to push hard for Gold Coast to stake a claim.

Under the proposal, Brisbane and Sydney would still host one game each year but the ARLC will be open to staging a third game elsewhere every second year.

The plan has already been met with disdain by the Queensland Government, who say they will not pay to keep matches in Brisbane but Major Events and Commonwealth Games minister Jann Stuckey says she'll discuss a possible Gold Coast bid with the mayor next week.

"In Tom Tate, you have a very bold and progressive mayor who has his heart very firmly attached to the Gold Coast and I'm very pleased to hear he has some big ideas and big dreams," Stuckey told reporters on Friday.

"We're a government committed to major events and the most important thing is we work towards that.

"I'll be discussing that (Origin) with Tom early next week."

Tate says he would host an Origin match at Carrara Stadium, which is set to have its capacity of 25,000 boosted to 40,000 with temporary grandstands for the Commonwealth Games.

"We just had a Wallabies Test and I am going to go after State of Origin," Tate told News Limited.

"We have had the Aboriginal All Stars game, we host the International Rugby Sevens. Bringing State of Origin here to the Gold Coast makes a lot of sense.

"If we snag it here, I think it would be bigger than Suncorp (Brisbane)."


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