In January 2008, it was reported that the AFL officially registered the name "Gold Coast Football Club Ltd" with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The registration was effective from 24 December 2007. In March 2008, the AFL won the support of the league's 16 club presidents to establish a side on the Gold Coast and an 18th side in Western Sydney.
Establishment
AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou announced in early 2008 that the club could debut in the Queensland State League in 2009 as it recruited players and prepared for its debut season in the AFL. Amongst the first players targeted by the Gold Coast were former captain and Gold Coast junior Nick Riewoldt, forward and 2008 Coleman Medallist Lance Franklin and forward Kurt Tippett. They did not end up with any of them. In June 2008 it was announced that the new team would play in the TAC Cup in 2009 and then in the VFL in 2010. Guy McKenna was appointed coach in August 2008. In early 2009, the Host Plus superannuation fund was named as the club's major sponsor. On 15 May 2009, it was announced that Essendon Football Club administrator Travis Auld would be the CEO of "GC17". Former Brisbane Lions' Shaun Hart and Gold CoasterMarcus Ashcroft were also appointed to the coaching panel. On 1 October 2009, the club announced it had signed Guy McKenna as head coach until 2012. In early 2009, the Queensland government announced that it would contribute sufficient funds allowing the redevelopment of Gold Coast Stadium. The redevelopment of Carrara Stadium cost $144.2 million to complete and housed 25,000 spectators with the capability to host an additional 15,000 temporary seats. The club's first game at the new stadium was against Geelong in round 10, 2011 after hosting their first few home matches at the Gabba.
2009: TAC Cup
The club's junior squad competed in the 2009 TAC Cup under 18 competition winning a number of games, eventually finishing in 5th place. They defeated the Northern Knights in the elimination final but then lost their semi final to the Geelong Falcons. Below is the inaugural TAC Cup team to play for the Gold Coast Football Club, as well as a table of results and fixture for the 2009 and 2010 seasons:
would continue to coach the team throughout the 2011 season and beyond, after successfully guiding the club through its journey in the TAC Cup and VFL in 2009 and 2010. The Suns would play their first four "home" games of the 2011 AFL season at the Gabba in Brisbane, whilst their home stadium underwent final redevelopment works. was instrumental in the club's first winning game with 31 disposals and 2 goals against at AAMI Stadium in Round 5 of the 2011 season. Gold Coast had a bye in Round 1, and played its first AFL game debuted in Round 2 on 2 April 2011 against Carlton at the Gabba in front of a crowd of 27,914. The first five goals were scored by Carlton, before Charlie Dixon scored the first-ever goal for the Gold Coast Suns. Carlton went on to win by 119 points. Gold Coast won its first game in Round 5 on 23 April 2011, defeating Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium. Gold Coast trailed by 40 points late in the third quarter, before coming back to win by three points, after Port Adelaide's Justin Westhoff missed a set shot after the siren. Michael Rischitelli was the best on ground. Gold Coast won two more matches for the season, winning the inaugural QClash against in Round 7 by eight points, and defeating by 15 points in Round 17 in the first AFL match ever played at Cazaly's Stadium in Cairns. However, the Suns also suffered several more very heavy defeats during the year, including a 139-point loss to in Round 6 – in which Essendon scored a record 15.4 in the first quarter – and a 150-point loss against in Round 20. The Suns went on to win the wooden spoon. Gold Coast endured a poor pre-season in 2012 which included a 13-point loss to fellow AFL newcomers. Their solitary win in that time was a narrow win over in the triangular round of the 2012 NAB Cup. The home-and-away season did not begin well for the Suns either, losing their first fourteen matches in succession to be the only winless team after Round 15 of the 2012 AFL season. Among the losses included losses by more than ninety points to and , seven-point losses to and at home and a 27-point loss to the newest AFL franchise,. Their fourteen losses to start the season was the worst by any team since lost its first 17 matches of the 2001 season. Their horror start to the season ended in round 16 with a narrow 2-point win against Richmond. They had a lead of up to 36 points halfway through the second quarter, which then shrank to 24 points after 2 quick goals before half time from Richmond. Richmond then had a six to two goal quarter, snatching the lead back. The lead then went to 18 points Richmond's way before Gold Coast snatched it back to just 4. With 5 seconds left, a kick from the right forward pocket in Gold Coast's 50 was marked by Karmichael Hunt. After the siren sounded he kicked the goal to make Gold Coast 2 point winners. The Suns then won two more matches for the season, a 30-point win against in Round 20 and a 12-point upset win over in Round 22, both at home. The team finished 17th at the end of the season, only above Greater Western Sydney on the AFL ladder. In November 2012 the club announced their "20-ONE-3" plan that targeted signing twenty thousand members and winning a premiership within three years - by the conclusion of the 2015 AFL season. The plan was criticised as being overly ambitious. By the end of the 20-ONE-3 period, the Suns had a highest membership of 13,643 and a highest ladder position of 12. In the 2013 AFL season Gold Coast made a much improved effort, highlighted by victories over seasoned opponents in Collingwood,, the and. Their improvement on the past two seasons was so stark that they were considered possibilities of securing an unlikely finals berth up until the final round after Essendon lost all their premiership points. The Suns finished with 8 wins for the season and ended the season placed 14th on the ladder. Captain Gary Ablett won his second Brownlow Medal, the first such medalist to win the award at the club. Despite losing veterans Jared Brennan and Campbell Brown ahead of the 2014 season, some experts predicted Gold Coast to "give the top 8 a nudge", though the general consensus was that the Suns would likely finish around 13th. Though beginning the season promisingly and entering Round 11 with a 7–2 record following impressive wins on the road against Melbourne, North Melbourne, and St Kilda, the Suns would stumble severely through the second half of the season. After captain Gary Ablett was injured in a win over Collingwood in round 16, the club went on to lose the next two matches, including one in the QClash against Brisbane. In round 19, the club recorded its inaugural win without their captain, defeating St Kilda. The club went on to lose the remaining matches of the season, finishing in 12th. Inaugural coach Guy McKenna was sacked at season's end, leaving the club after 88 games in charge and winning just over 25% of them.
Stadium
Gold Coast began playing at Carrara Stadium in their foundation year of 2009. Although the ground had existed since 1987, the Gold Coast Football Club's establishment in late 2008 prompted the club to use the stadium as their home ground during the 2009 TAC Cup. The ground opened in 1987 and was used by the Brisbane Bears for the first six years of existence and was later used by the North Melbourne Kangaroos and several professional Rugby league teams. The insufficient and outdated facilities at Carrara Stadium led to the Australian Football League investigating several stadium options for the Gold Coast's inaugural AFL season in 2011. A new $172 million stadium in Helensvale was a strongly considered option. The AFL eventually brokered a deal with the Gold Coast City Council and the Queensland Government to redevelop Carrara Stadium. The $144.2 million upgrade would increase the stadium capacity to 25,000. Construction for the redevelopment of Carrara Stadium began in December 2009 and the Gold Coast was required to find a new home ground for the 2010 VFL season. The team shared their games among local grounds Fankhauser Reserve, H & A Oval and Cooke-Murphy Oval. The redevelopment ran into the 2011 AFL season and the Gold Coast were again required to find a temporary home ground. The Suns elected to use the Gabba for their first three home games of the 2011 season. The redeveloped Carrara Stadium was officially opened on 22 May 2011 by Queensland PremierAnna Bligh. Six days later the Gold Coast Suns hosted their first home match at the redeveloped Carrara Stadium against the Geelong Cats in front of a sell out crowd. Two months later, the Suns attracted the largest crowd ever at the Carrara Stadium in a game against Collingwood that attracted an attendance of 23,302, a record broken in round 16 of 2014 when 24,032 attended also against Collingwood. The seating capacity was temporarily upgraded to 40,000 as part of the Gold Coast's successful bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Home guernsey : Red and gold based guernsey with the club logo in the middle. HostPlus sponsor on front and Fiat sponsor on back.
Away guernsey : Red based guernsey with a wave, coloured blue, gold and white. Fiat sponsor on front and HOSTPLUS sponsor on back.
Clash guernsey : White based guernsey with an arrow-shaped design which goes down to the bottom, coloured blue, gold and two shades of grey. Fiat sponsor on front and HOSTPLUS sponsor on back.
Mascot
The Suns' Mascot Manor representative and club mascot is "Sunny Ray". In June 2018 the Suns introduced their new mascot, "Skye".
The Gold Coast Suns have a rivalry with fellow Queensland AFL team the Brisbane Lions. The two teams contest the QClash twice each season. The first QClash was held in 2011, with Gold Coast winning by 8 points; the game established the highest pay TV audience ever for an AFL game, with a total of 354,745 viewers watching the game. The medal for the player adjudged best on ground is known as the Marcus Ashcroft Medal. It is named after former footballer Marcus Ashcroft, who played junior football on the Gold Coast for Southport and 318 VFL/AFL games for the Brisbane Bears/Lions between 1989 and 2003. He later joined Gold Coast's coaching staff and was the first Queenslander to play 300 VFL/AFL games. Lion Dayne Beams has won the medal three times, the most by any player. The trophy awarded to the winner of the game is currently known as the "QClash Trophy". The trophy is a "traditional style" looking silver cup with a wooden base and a plaque. The plaque's inscription reads from left to right, "Brisbane Lions AFC", "QCLASH", "Gold Coast Suns FC".
Administration
A three-man committee of former Brisbane Lions chairman Graham Downie, Southport Sharks director Alan Mackenzie and lawyer and community leader John Witheriff established the club's administration. As part of the AFL bid criteria, the GC17 consortium required a commitment from 20,000 locals to become football club members, a $5 million net asset base and 111 sponsors by mid-October 2008.
Recruitment
In the leadup to the 2009 AFL Draft, the AFL allowed the Gold Coast to recruit 12 players born between January and April 1992, with all other AFL clubs being restricted to players born in 1991 or earlier. Karmichael Hunt, a professional rugby league footballer with the Brisbane Broncos and rugby union side Biarritz Olympique in France's Top 14, was signed to swap codes to play for the Gold Coast from 2010. Gary Ablett, Jr., dual premiership player with Geelong and winner of the 2009 Brownlow Medal, signed a deal reportedly worth $9.6 million over five years to captain the Gold Coast during their starting years. Other significant signings to the current junior team that played in the VFL included Stanis Susuve and Brandon Matera. At the end of 2010 season, the club had been given the following concessions:
The ability to sign one uncontracted player from each of the 16 AFL clubs
Zoned access to five Queensland players prior to the AFL draft
The first pick in every round plus additional first round picks at Numbers 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13 and 15 of the 2010 AFL Draft
The capacity to pre-list 10 players who had previously nominated for the AFL Draft, or were previously listed with an AFL club
Click for more information on Gold Coast's coaching staff
AFL Women's team
In September 2017, Gold Coast were granted a license by the AFL to compete in the AFL Women's league from the start of the 2020 season. The club shares home games between Carrara Stadium, Fankhauser Reserve in nearby Southport, and the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay.
Suns TV was a television program hosted by Jessica Skarratt that was carried by the Seven Network and was shown thirty minutes prior to Gold Coast Suns games in Queensland. The program featured highlights as well as interviews with players and coaches in the lead up to the match being played that week. It was no longer shown on TV as of 2015.
