Springfield gamble

IPSWICH Councillor, David Morrison (Division 1) has stirred up the expansion debate by proclaiming Springfield the best location to base any future Ipswich-Logan National Rugby League (NRL) team at.

Last year in November, prominent Logan businessman, David Kemp revealed plans to launch an Ipswich-Logan bid in time for the NRL’s next television rights deal in 2013.

Kemp is the main player in the push for the new NRL franchise, but would have to beat off Central Queensland and Central Coast, who are expected to ramp up their bids for admission into the elite rugby league competition this year.

Perth and Wellington have also been mooted as possible locations for a 17th team.

But if ever an Ipswich-Logan NRL team eventuated, Cr Morrison said there would be many advantages to base the team in Springfield, highlighting the master planned community’s enormous growth and geographical position.

“Because of the growth happening now and the projected growth of the Greater Springfield area, especially with an NRL team, if there was a merger with Logan and Ipswich, Springfield could be seen as a good place for that team to be based at,” he said.

“The western corridor is one of the fastest growing areas in Australia and will be housing a large amount of south-east Queensland’s growth over the next 20 years.

“It seems ideal (having the team based in Springfield) because it’s right on the border of Ipswich and Logan – Springfield Lakes actually borders onto the suburb of Greenbank which is in Logan.”

Cr Morrison also believed Ipswich-Logan’s chances of an NRL team would improve if they gambled on Springfield.

“I encourage them (Ipswich-Logan NRL team bid consortium) to come meet with me to discuss the opportunity and have a look,” he said.

“What I say to people is you can talk all you want about the Greater Springfield area, but until you see first hand the magnitude of the development, you don’t appreciate all the talk about it.

“They might see it as a risk having the team here, but it would be a risk they wouldn’t regret.”

No indication has yet been made of where the Ipswich-Logan team would be based, if granted an NRL licence. Also no details have arisen of whether the team would have its own stadium or if they would host their games from an existing venue like Suncorp Stadium.

Cr Morrison believed it would be too soon for Springfield to have its own stadium big enough to host NRL fixtures.

But the council parks, sport and recreation committee chairman proposed the idea to construct a start-of-the-art training facility similar to Melbourne’s Lexus Centre – which is used by AFL club, Collingwood – until the time was right for Springfield to have its own stadium.

“Certainly it’s premature to have a serious stadium for Springfield, but no question about a training ground for Springfield and then the team could train out of here,” he said.

“Studies (Ipswich City) council has done indicate any major stadium in the city would be based at North Ipswich Reserve, and no study since that has indicated that should change.

“Does that discount Springfield from having a stadium? No, I envision one year that will happen.

“Will I ever see that become a reality? I don’t know, but I definitely think the Greater Springfield area will have a significant stadium in the future.”

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• Greater Springfield’s location in between Ipswich and Logan.

• New Springfield railway station set to be completed between 2013 and 2015.

• Upgrade of Ipswich and Logan Motorways and Centenary Highway makes for easier access to Springfield for motorists.

• More than 60,000 people are planned to move into Greater Springfield area over the next 20 years.

• The majority of Greater Springfield residents are young to middle-aged active families.

• Along with the Ipswich and Logan catchment to draw supporters from, the new master planned town of Ripley Valley, which is just a 15 minute drive from Springfield, is expected to have a population of more than 120,000 people when completed.

• Greater Springfield has land zoned for sport and recreational developments meaning planning codes would allow for a stadium to be built.

• Hundreds of companies are expected to establish their business in the Greater Springfield area in the future, which in turn leads to many potential sponsorship opportunities and corporate backing.