Central Coast Mariners look to manage Gosford's Bluetongue Stadium

Central Coast Mariners could become the first A-League club to assume full operational control of their home ground after submitting an offer to take up the management of Blue Tongue Stadium as early as February next year.

Fairfax Media this week revealed the move on the same day as the club announced their strategic push into Sydney's northern suburbs by relocating an A-League match to North Sydney Oval.

The A-League Champions submitted their bid to Gosford City Council to win the rights for Blue Tongue Stadium, currently held by entrepeneur John Singleton through his John Singleton Group. As the venue's only regular tenants, the club are vying for the long-term management in order to set their own terms regarding costs, facilities and upgrades.

Fairfax media suggested that the Club identified the need to assume control of the stadium as a considerable step in improving their finances as it's understood that their current rental deal requires them to obtain significant crowd figures in order to break even.

After the purchase of the rights, the Mariners will be able to set operational costs on their own terms and will receive greater profits from ticketing and food and beverage services. General Manager Peter Turnbull vowed that the club will also tailor the venue to fan entertainment, should they be successful, and earmarked the possibility of implementing a beach within the ground similar to that used in the cricket last season.

Turnbull explained "(we will introduce) lots of fun interactive stuff: new bars, maybe a few more seaside type initiatives inside the ground, maybe the Mariners beach like the cricket last year. It will be fun."

The Club also has ambitions beyond the A-League and is looking to establish the scenic ground as a future home of Australia's youth and women's national football teams. The Socceroos often train in Gosford and while Turnbull acknowledges that they cannot lure senior international fixtures to the venue, he envisages Bluetongue Stadium becoming a regular venue for Young Socceroos, Olyroos and Matildas' games in the future.

Turnbull added "we've got the interest of the Central Coast at heart and we're probably the biggest brand name at the moment in the Central Coast and we want the stadium to be successful.

"We can bring games via the FFA for the Young Socceroos and the Matildas to can play at Blue Tongue and our hope is that Blue Tongue becomes the home ground of every Australia team apart from the full Socceroo team."

The application for the stadium rights quashed suggestions that the Mariners were preparing to relocate to North Sydney Oval after they announced a one-off game at the venue on 19th December against Wellington Phoenix, the first time in ten years that a professional Australian football match will be played there.

The Mariners were forced out of Blue Tongue for their round six match due to the venue being booked for Carols by Candlelight and the club took the opportunity to reinforce their presence in Sydney's northern suburbs. More than 20% of their members reside south of the Hawkesbury River and the Mariners have existing networks with football associations in the area which prompted them to expand their brand further down the freeway.

Turnbull explained "we've always had big support from the northern parts of Sydney.

"We have the commuter base and the 20% of memberships based here so there has always been a strong northern Sydney emphasis with the Mariners."

North Sydney Oval was the former home for the Northern Spirit in the old National Soccer League (NSL), former home to a number of Mariners connections including current coach and captain Graham Arnold and John Hutchinson.

During the peak of the Spirit's brief history in the old NSL where they set a crowd record of 18,985 during their debut season in 1998.

Chairman Mike Charlesworth is hopeful of drawing a similar crowd as the scheduling of a Thursday night match at the venue caters to the needs of many of those who commute from the Central Coast to Sydney. 

Charlesworth concluded "something like 60 thousand people commute from the Central Coast to Sydney every day. 60 thousand people probably won't get back to Bluetongue Stadium in time for this particular Thursday evening game so what we're really trying to do is service our supporters and people from the coast much better."

Fairfax media reported that the Mariners will also provide bus services from the Central Coast to North Sydney for that game. 

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