Manly Sea Eagles being ‘bullied’ over change to rent at Brookvale Oval
EXCLUSIVE: The Sea Eagles and Warringah Council made a secret deal on unpaid rent for Brookvale Oval. But the club is crying foul after council introduced new costs.
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MANLY Sea Eagles and Warringah Council have agreed a secret deal on unpaid rent for Brookvale Oval. But Manly is fuming after the council introduced new costs for hiring the ground next season.
The club was being “bullied”, chairman Scott Penn said.
Warringah Council said the fees reflected the true cost of hiring the grounds on an ad hoc basis, which the ratepayers would otherwise have to fork out for.
Following the deal on unpaid fees, the council said it was “more than happy” to negotiate a license with the Sea Eagles for the 2016 season.
Without a licence to hire, the ground will now cost about $45,000 plus GST, roughly the same as last year, but cleaning, staff and utility fees on top would take the total bill per match to about $60,000, a cost the council previously covered.
Mr Penn said the club was up for a fight.
“We have tried to negotiate a fair and reasonable hiring fee for 2016 and it is clear the council are making it difficult for us to play at Brookie. We are not going anywhere and are up for the fight,” he said.
“The costs are already exorbitant by any stadia standard yet they want to hit us for more. Clearly they no longer want the Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval.
“They are threatening a shut-out which we will defend like it is the Alamo. We refuse to be bullied or stood over.”
The club was also angered by new terms and conditions for next season which do not guarantee the ground being up to NRL standard.
“They want to charge more than $60,000 a home game and can’t guarantee the ground being up to what is required for an elite national competition. What type of organisation can make such a suggestion?” Mr Penn said.
Ten games are scheduled already, starting on Friday, March 4. Warringah Mayor Michael Regan has said the council did not want to be a “scapegoat” over rumoured plans for the club to move to Gosford.
A council spokeswoman said: “Late last year the Manly Sea Eagles cancelled their lease with Warringah Council for the use of Brookvale Oval and have not yet entered into negotiations for the 2016 season.
“At Tuesday night’s council meeting it was resolved to introduce new fees and charges to allow for NRL games to be played at Brookvale Oval as part of a booking fee system rather than a leasing system.
“This will allow any NRL team to book the oval at similar cost per game to last year so long as they have no outstanding debts with council.”
Councillors agreed to the new fees going on exhibition for 50 days.
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