As far as time goes, the seven years Cronulla have had to hold out for a new leagues club is nothing compared with how long it took them to clinch a first premiership.
When that was achieved in 2016 after nearly half a century, captain Paul Gallen declared it was time to “turn your porch lights off”, referencing Jack Gibson’s famous line that waiting for the Sharks to win a title was “like leaving the porch lamp on for Harold Holt”.
The opening of the new Sharks Leagues Club on Saturday is not quite as momentous an occasion.
But after years of complications with developers and cost blowouts, it is a landmark moment for Cronulla.
Including the aptly named Porchlight Cafe and bar and dining facilities overlooking Ocean Protect Stadium and Woolooware Bay and with a view to the city, the premises are the latest addition to a transformed shopping and residential precinct surrounding Cronulla’s ground.
At an eventual price tag of more than $40 million, the club has not come cheaply for the Sharks, who have had to take on $22 million in debt to finish it.
But with the doors finally opening – four years after the planned completion date – Cronulla can turn their focus to the last piece of the puzzle: securing long-awaited funding to redevelop their dilapidated stadium.
“I keep saying it – we’re the only Sydney club not to receive a dollar. That has to change,” Sharks chief executive Dino Mezzatesta said on Friday.
“We’re fully aware the stadium needs some attention. That’s very different to building a club.
“If the club cost just in excess of $40 million, then [for] the stadium, if you wanted to do this properly, you need something more like a couple of hundred million.”
That is well beyond the means of Cronulla or any team, so the Sharks will ramp up a lobbying effort to state and federal governments with the support of Australian Rugby League Commission executive chairman Peter V’landys, a vocal advocate for suburban grounds.
The low-hanging powerlines over the Family Hill limit what can be built at the northern end of the venue but Mezzatesta has designs on an L-shaped new stadium on the other sides, with a capacity of up to 22,000.
One option Cronulla is ready to explore is a possible aquisition of the ground, which it owns, by the state government, the NRL or both.
V’landys is intent on increasing the NRL’s assets – the Quest Hotel near the stadium is part of its growing property portfolio – and he has not ruled out an investment in Shark Park.
“I know he’s got his eyes on stadia. Here’s one here, available. And the Quest is next door, which they own,” Mezzatesta said.
“Would he buy it outright? Maybe not, but would he do something that incorporates a government buyback? I think they’d be really interested.
“He’s never shied away from the conversation. Nothing has changed since I’ve been speaking to him. If there is something that can be done here which means an acquisition of some description, he’d be looking at it.”
That would be welcome news for coach Craig Fitzgibbon, who has made the finals in all five of his seasons in charge at the Sharks despite the club having the most dated training facilities in the competition.
Due to hold talks with PNG target Briton Nikora after the second-rower’s World Cup campaign with New Zealand, Fitzgibbon believes Cronulla’s new home base next to the stadium offers optimism for the club and its supporters.
“We’re just that little bit more believable,” Fitzgibbon said. “Our community has got an asset they can be proud of. We want to give them a footy team they can be proud of as well.”
You have reached your maximum number of saved items.
Remove items from your saved list to add more.
You've used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.
