Australia’s Gold Coast sporting venues have welcomed over two million visitors already this financial year, a significant increase on previous years.
The city’s Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre, Coomera Indoor Sports Centres, Runway Bay Indoor Sports Stadium and Carrara Indoor Sports Stadium have seen a 154% increase in visitation since they were handed over to the local authority after the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
The numbers have continued to grow year-on-year, with a 17% increase in visitors expected by the end of the 2023 financial year, compared to the same period last year. In the 2019-2020 financial year, all four venues received 792,588 visitors compared to 1.281 million in 2020-2021 and 1.716 million in 2021-2022.
The economic benefit of the four venues in the 12-month period is expected to amount to A$74m (£39m/€45m/$48m) by the end of the 2022-2023 financial year.
Each venue is multipurpose and has hosted 115 key state, national and international events during the 12-month period.
Mayor Tom Tate said: “This milestone highlights the ever-increasing popularity of our major sporting venues and the integral role the Gold Coast will play in the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“Our world-class sporting venues are valuable community assets that will continue to benefit our city’s growing sports and entertainment sectors for generations to come.”