Central Coast Mariners’ A-League future could hinge on taking over Central Coast Stadium

A piece of paper pinned up in the offices of Central Coast Council could hold the key to the future of the Mariners, and whether the A-League will continue to have a team in Gosford.

• Mariners star dropped for breaking drinking ban
• Matildas star slams stadium facilities

A piece of paper pinned up in the offices of Central Coast Council could hold the key to the future of the Mariners, and whether the A-League will continue to have a team in Gosford.

A-League bosses have warned the council that without a hugely improved stadium deal for the Mariners, their future on the Coast can’t be guaranteed.

Now there are hopes that the way could be opened for the club to achieve its long-sought dream of taking over the management rights of the stadium — something that one insider described as a “gamechanger” for the struggling side, who host Wellington at Central coast Stadium tonight.

The piece of paper in question is a policy on public display that would allow Central Coast Council to consider unsolicited tenders — in other words, allow a body like the Mariners to make a proposal about taking over the stadium, with rules in place to have it evaluated, debated, and hopefully passed.

The Central Coast Mariners are hoping to take over management of Central Coast Stadium.

It means that the club is hoping to be able to open talks next month over taking over the stadium, where declining investment has started to be rather too obvious — not least in the quality of the pitch which has slipped from one of the best in the A-League to one of the worst.

In the background are stark warnings from Football Federation Australia to the council that getting better stadium deals is a major priority for the governing body, and the Central Coast’s is one of the first.

Without a greatly improved agreement, Council has been told, no guarantees can be made about the club’s future. With disappointed A-League bidders still waiting in the wings, the threat is serious.

It costs the club some $50k to put on a game but they get precious little of the income beyond ticket sales.

Assuming the management rights would not only allow the Mariners to bank income streams such as food and beverage, they could also stage events out of season to pay for the much-needed investment.

On the field the Mariners have become a rather pitiful joke, but with a new board of directors in place there is the promise of more investment.

The spotlight is likely to fall heavily on coach Mike Mulvey after a season officially the second worst in the history of the A-League, culminating in the captain being banned for abusing a referee and a senior player being dropped for breaking a team no-alcohol policy.