Australia's Gold Coast Turf Club Begins Work On $36M Upgrades After Years Of Waiting

Work has "finally begun" on the A$35M ($36M) upgrade of the Gold Coast Turf Club, according to Meers & Nicholson of the COURIER-MAIL. The news comes after 10 years of "bitter infighting which brought down chairmen and transfixed the community." Club Chair Brett Cook put a hammer through the 20-year-old brick building to "begin work on a double-storey corporate box facility, refurbishment of the upper level of the grandstand and a new pool." About A$12M will be spent on the first phase of the upgrade, which "will be followed by a redevelopment of the racetrack and training facilities." Racing Queensland Chair Kevin Dixon has confirmed the Gold Coast will be used as a "mini metropolitan track" once the upgrades are complete. That will "ease pressure" on Eagle Farm and Doomben (COURIER-MAIL, 2/27).