Diggers and Sports Club: Future of popular Surfers Paradise venue revealed

A big change is coming to a beloved Surfers Paradise dining institution which was saved from closure only seven years ago. WHAT IT MEANS FOR PATRONS

The central Surfers Paradise home of the suburb’s Diggers and Sports Club is on the market.

The two-level hospitality venue, formerly known as the Surfers Paradise RSL, is the subject of a national expression of interest campaign run by firm Burgess Rawson.

It has been owned by businessman Evan Ryan, who stepped in to save the club in 2018 when it was in danger of closing.

The Surfers Paradise Diggers and Sports Club is on the market. Picture: Supplied

Any sale would not have an immediate impact on the club, which has a six-year lease running until September 2027, with the possibility of two further five-year extensions through until 2037.

Burgess Rawson agent Craig Chapman, who is marketing the project with fellow agent Tom Lawrence, said the site had already attracted interest from prospective investors.

“It is very rare to find a property like this, particularly with a tenant who has been there for more than 30 years,” he said.

The Surfers Paradise Diggers and Sports Club is on the market. Picture: Supplied

“We are expecting a lot of interest in it and have already received plenty of inquiries and we are only halfway through this campaign.

“We have seen people from interstate, as well as Gold Coast investors looking at the venue.”

According to the project’s marketing documents, the tenancy annually generates $247,200 of net income, with fixed three per cent annual rent increases, while the tenant pays all outgoing costs.

The Surfers Paradise Diggers and Sports Club is on the market. Picture: Supplied

The 2243 sqm venue has a capacity of 730 people and was on the receiving end of a $3m fit-out of its facilities, restaurant and gaming rooms following its purchase by Mr Ryan.

An entity linked with Mr Ryan’s company Ryan Global spent $2m on the site in late 2018.

The company had interests in steel, petroleum, property, truck stops and cattle.

Mr Ryan himself had been a regular of the old RSL for more than 20 years and decided to step in and save the venue when it was in trouble, citing his father’s service in World War II and his ongoing interest in veteran affairs.

“My Dad was really upset about the treatment of veterans and most of my mates were Vietnam vets. I could financially afford it and thought it was time to do something,” Mr Ryan said in 2019 when announcing the new fit-out.

“It is certainly not for financial gain. I see RSLs in all the country towns disappearing and I don’t want to see it happening here.”

The expression of interest campaign on the property closes at 3pm on April 2.

SHOPPING CENTRE SALE

The results of the mortgagee sale of a prominent new shopping centre will be known in weeks.

Expressions of interest closed this week on the Trip 69 Neighbourhood centre on Molendinar’s Southport-Nerang Road, which was only completed and opened in 2024.

The 7292 sqm site is being sold by Colliers International “on behalf of Robert Hutson and David Johnstone of KordaMentha as agents for the mortgagee”.

The centre is home to a Hope Energy service station, a Zaraffas coffee shop, Guzman y Gomez Mexican fast food restaurant and the Queens Arms bottle shop.

“Strategically positioned on a busy main arterial road within a significant residential growth corridor, this centre offers investors a rare chance to secure a high-quality, long weighted average lease expiry (WALE) asset within one of Australia’s fastest-growing cities,” its marketing material reads.

Its owner will have an annual net income of $713,609.

Expressions of interest closed on the site on Wednesday, with the results expected to be known in coming weeks.