The beleaguered Coledale RSL which announced it would "close permanently" two months ago, has staged a comeback with club members voting to sell off at least half its gaming machines to fund a reopening.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Club members met on Saturday morning to vote on a proposal to sell six of their poker machine allocations to reopen the club, and a further three if required to fund ongoing operations.
The was supported unanimously, the club said, with a reopening date set for the Easter long weekend on April 6.
"A great turnout showing lots of community interest and support," the club's board said of the meeting, on social media.
"We are pleased to announce that the motion to sell poker machines to fund the reopening of the Club has been passed unanimously.
"Lots of hard work ahead to reopen, but it's going to be worth it."
According to the latest NSW Liquor and Gaming data, the club held 12 poker machines licences at the end of June.
The club announced in early December that it would close for good, saying it was impossible to turn around adverse trading results.
Secretary Warwick Try said the club had been losing about $15,000 a month for the few years, and had finally run out of money.
It elected to close ahead of the summer peak to be able to pay everything owed to creditors, he said.
The closure came after a months long saga between the Coledale RSL Club and its landlord the Coledale RSL Sub-Branch, which despite similar names, are different entities.
The club announced in August that its finances had been "gradually disappearing down the plug hole" over five years and that this had been exacerbated during the pandemic and 2022's eight months of rain.
The club explored a merger with Tradies, in Sutherland, however the sub-branch did not agree to the bigger club's terms - which was to sell the building.
In August, Mr Try told the Mercury: "I believe the sub-branch [refusing] to selling the property will be responsible for the demise of Coledale RSL Club."
Last month, the Sub-Branch held a Q and A about the club and their building's future, saying the sub branch members had voted unanimously against the sale and instead agreed to seek out a new tenant.
However, they noted this would be difficult, as to get a new tenant approved, they said they would need to submit a Development Application to Wollongong City Council to change the zoning of the property.
The reopening was flagged in mid-February, when the club called an extraordinary general meeting and extended the membership of all members until December 2023.
Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content. Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play.
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
