Central Coast Stadium: Mariners boss blames council staff for burying club’s management rights bid
Mariners boss Shaun Mielekamp has gone public with a proposal that could save the struggling club from relocation or collapse but was never made public because Central Coast Council staff deemed it not “unique enough”.
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Mariners boss Shaun Mielekamp has sent councillors and politicians an extraordinary email to make them aware of a proposal the club had for management rights to Central Coast Stadium, which was never shown to councillors because staff deemed it not “unique enough”.
In his emails Mr Mielekamp claims council staff did not take the plan — which was four years in the making — to councillors for their consideration.
“After 6 exhaustive years financially supporting and backing the Club, the Chairman Mike Charlesworth has now publicly expressed his intent to sell the A-League license to the highest bidder,” Mr Mielekamp wrote.
“This could very well result in the club being relocated or folded altogether.
“The only way to keep our ONLY national sporting team on the Central Coast and the ONLY anchor tenant at the stadium, playing all home matches here, is to ensure that any prospective investor into the club has the assurances that the Central Coast is a vibrant, growing and dynamic region worth investing in and has a council that prides itself on doing everything it can for our community, which the Mariners play a vital role in.
“The club had a strategy and had submitted a proposal to council on a long term plan for the stadium that would save the club — we had been working on this for over 4 years knowing this day might come.
“While I could go on forever in the details I just want it known that the decision for this was not in the hands of you, our elected officials, as the clubs proposal was not deemed “unique” enough to warrant you being involved in the decision. This process regardless of the outcome and the threshold for “uniqueness” must be made at council chambers not in the admin office.”
Mr Mielekamp forwarded the email to every state and federal politician on the coast to update them on the club’s position and to “flag the seriousness that we face”.
“Ideally there will be an opportunity to include a community based ownership model or shareholding of some sort moving forward however the major funding will need to come from private investors,” he wrote.
“When the right investor presents themselves I will be asking you all to show them that this region is worth backing and investing in, unfortunately the biggest challenge I have right now is the perception that it is too hard to do business on the coast and too hard to actually get anything done. I will need to sell the Central Coast as much as a viable proposition as I will need to sell the football club.
“Everyone is happy to jump on the Mariners bandwagon when we are winning but it is now that tangible support and real help is needed at our toughest of times.”
Central Coast Council has been contacted for a response.
THE PROPOSAL THAT COULD SAVE THE MARINERS
The Mariners gave Central Coast Council an unsolicited proposal for management rights to Central Coast Stadium last December.
The 56-page proposal seeks a 30-year lease in which the southern end of the stadium would be activated to include cafes, retail, licensed restaurants and a catering school open seven days.
Under the $4 million proposal the black fences and water tanks would be relocated so the new “Palm Tree Parade” area could better connect with Gosford waterfront under Brian McGowen Bridge and with Gosford’s CBD.
As well A-League rounds and the potential for exhibition matches between international teams, the Mariners also committed to doubling the number of annual events to more than 30 including concerts similar to the Lionel Richie concert in March 2018.
A key component of this would be the introduction of a “Coast Live-Pass” which would get the cardholder access to every event and game of the year.
The proposal states this would generate more local jobs, provide employment training and internships and turn the stadium precinct into a tourist and entertainment hub.
“With thirteen Hyundai A-League matches, two NRL games and a handful of community events each year, Central Coast Stadium spends most of the time empty,” the proposal states.
“This (Coast Live-Pass) will enable the Club to generate seed funding to attract large acts to the venue along with aiding the funding of stage and production upgrades to create a turn key live performance venue.”
The proposal uses the Penrith Panthers long term lease with Penrith City Council in 2009, and subsequent activation of that stadium beyond NRL as an example of what could be achieved.
Under the plan the Mariners would allow council to run three community events a year, while also providing council additional revenue from the ground.
The proposal states the Mariners were in a position to enter a women’s team into the 2020-21 W-League season and with the A-League expansion “licence bid consortiums” were looking to relocate clubs and council would lose the Mariners as its major tenant.
Council’s director of roads transport drainage and waste Boris Bolgoff thanked Mike Charlesworth for his commitment and dedication to the Mariners over the past seven years.
“The Stadium has enjoyed a strong relationship with the Central Coast Mariners for more than 15 years, since the inception of the A-League, who are an important part of the local and sporting community on the coast,” he said.
Council stated that it received an unsolicited proposal from the Central Coast Mariners in December 2019 for the management of the stadium.
“Following assessment, in accordance with council’s adopted unsolicited proposal policy and procedure, the proposal was determined as not meeting the criteria for progression into a formal agreement,” a spokeswoman said.
“Central Coast Council remains committed to supporting the stadium and will be determining the most appropriate business model for the future management and operations of the stadium.”
Mayor Lisa Matthews said council looked forward to a continued partnership with the Mariners.
“Council is proud to host the Mariners at the stadium, the region’s only local professional football team and I hope the team find new owners soon and we look forward to continuing working together in the future,” she said.