Bigger gaming lounge, new bowling green in the works at Warilla Bowls

A development application for the extension of the outdoor gaming area has been lodged with Shellharbour City Council.

Read more: Massive tree planting to pay tribute to former Wollongong councillor Vicky King

The 457 square metre extension will take out half of one of the club's three bowling greens.

But Warilla Bowls CEO Phil Kipp said that loss would only be temporary - a second DA is in the works for a new synthetic undercover green to be constructed.

"We do have a full indoor green but we can fill up three greens with social bowlers on any given day," Mr Kipp said.

"What this is trying to achieve is an all-weather bowling solution for the club. Our members miss their bowls when it's raining but what this would allow us to do is make sure, even when it rains, everyone who comes to the club for social bowls will still get a game of bowls irrespective of the weather."

The extension of the gaming area will include an open section to the north to comply with smoking regulations.

However the DA acoustic measures will be put in place to "address any potential impacts on adjoining and adjacent residential premises", the document stated.

The proposed increased size of the gaming area will not see an increase in poker machine licences.

The club has 231 poker machine entitlements but a number of them have not been on the floor for several years.

Read more: Proposal to create 60-plus new homes at Kiama site

"When COVID came we were forced to space the machines out, we had to physically distance between machines," Mr Kipp said.

"So we took about 50 off the floor which allowed us to space them out. Now we're in a position where we can put them back on the floor. I want to retain that spacing - what we found is the poker machine players like that space, they like not being crammed in."

In terms of the planned synthetic green, Mr Kipp said the club still required three outdoor greens for the number of bowlers.

He said, like most other bowling clubs, there was a decline in the sport at the competition level, but the club was making efforts to broaden the appeal of lawn bowls.

"I suppose the profile of your normal bowler has changed," he said.

"People used to play strictly pennants on a Saturday. We notice our pennants numbers are still strong but we do have a lot of our bowlers in that ageing demographic where sooner or later they can't play lawn bowls.

"So we're doing other things to try and re-establish a junior bowls academy and a big aspect of our bowls program is in barefoot bowls.

"The eternal challenge for a bowling club is every time you see an ad on the telly with a nursing home you'll see a game of lawn bowls on there.

"We understand that if we're going to be sustainable as a business we've got to move with the times and try and introduce the younger families, the younger demographic into the place."

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.