Dire finances could mean a new business moves into Coledale RSL Club

Warrick Try is the manager and licencee of The Club, who leases the building on Lawrence Hargrave Drive from the Coledale RSL Sub-Branch (a different entity).

Mr Try claims their decision not to allow them to amalgamate with a bigger club ultimately means they will be forced to close.

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He said The Club's finances have been "gradually disappearing down the plug hole" for the last five years but was exacerbated during the pandemic and a period of eight months of rain.

"The last two years have been absolutely the pits," Mr Try told the Mercury. "I think people have just got out of the habit of going out to venues."

The Club held an extraordinary general meeting last Sunday August 21, with four people putting up their hand to join the board and hopefully revive the ailing venue.

Jeramy Pope, Jarod Cunningham, Gregory Todd and Glen Cahill will now bring the board total to seven.

Mr Try said with hefty bills to pay (including one from the Australian Tax Office), without a lifeline of around $20,000 or more by the end of next month, he and his 14 staff would be out of jobs.

He said they'd been approached by three other RSL groups with "extremely good finances" to amalgamate, which he believed a "terrific answer", but claimed the sub-branch was refusing to sell the property.

"They want to hang on to the property at all costs, and may well have an empty property come the end of September," Mr Try said.

"I believe the sub-branch [refusing] to selling the property will be responsible for the demise of Coledale RSL Club."

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Coledale RSL Sub-Branch secretary James Gatley said sub-branch members considered themselves not as landlords but as, "custodians of the building and the site for community purpose".

Their reason not to allow amalgamation was to ensure the RSL building remained for the community and not developed into a shop-top housing apartment block.

Mr Gatley said several developers had in the past liaised with the sub-branch to try and persuade them to let go of the land, but they weren't selling.

"As a sub branch which has community interests at heart and in mind, that typically is the narrative of amalgamations," he said.

"We are not willing to sell the site and the lose community control and interest."

Mr Gatley also said they could not be held responsible for the loss of jobs as they do not operate the venue, they only own the building.

Expressions of interest have already begun being offered to the sub-branch if the current tenant does depart.

Meantime, a GoFundMe fundraising campaign has also been setup on behalf of The Club.

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