The 30-year wait for an upgrade to Brookvale Oval might be over

IN a rare piece of good news for the battling Manly Sea Eagles, the 30-year wait for an upgrade on Brookvale Oval might soon be over.

Supporters are seen on the hill during the Round 23 NRL match between the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Gold Coast Titans at Lottoland in Sydney, Friday, August 17, 2018. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

THE 30-year wait to fix dilapidated Brookvale Oval may nearly be over.

Manly chairman Scott Penn hopes to announce the construction of a state-of-the-art Centre of Excellence at the northern end of Lottoland within the next four to six weeks.

It would be the first, vital step towards a major upgrade for a famous old footy ground seemingly left neglected and run down.

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The Brookvale Centre of Excellence would house the club’s football operations, coaching staff, administration and have 3000 undercover seats out front.

With three training fields available, the team would continue to train the majority of each week out of the Academy of Sport at Narrabeen.

Brookvale Oval could finally be in for an upgrade. AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts.

“We are making progress. To be honest, we are little bit sick of talking about it,” Penn said. “We are really wanting to focus on action and we have a master plan already in place.

“It’s now about getting stage one away and we’re hopeful we can do that in the next month or so, in terms of locking it down so we can then come out, announce it, and get things under way.

“The club is working very closely with local and State Government to make sure we have the right Centre of Excellence at Lottoland that would befit an NRL club. We are still a way away but there are certainly positive and proactive conversations going on.

“We are still somewhat at the behest of Government in terms of announcement timing so we can’t promise anything but hopefully by the end of the year we’ll be clear.”

Penn is keen on building a centre of excellence. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Penn, whose family has injected $12 million into Manly and faces another $1.5 million outlay for this year, claimed after the Centre of Excellence was approved, he and CEO Lyall Gorman could move forward to implement a “broader master plan.”

“We are already in strong dialogue with a number of potential options, in terms of colleges and other facilities, in terms of commercial development, in some form a public-private partnership, to really activate the whole site,” he said.

Manly play out of the worst ground in the league. AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts.

“Brookvale, the area, deserves an activated precinct. We need to get an outcome at Brookvale, that’s what we need to do. We want to optimise the entire Brookvale precinct.”

Penn bristled at unfounded speculation he wanted to take Manly away from Brookvale. And the Sea Eagles co-owner claimed he and his family had no intention of walking away from the club.

“Yes, there has been interest but, no, we’re not looking to sell,” he said.

In fact, Penn said he wanted to increase his role at the club, which could seek to launch a New York club to play England’s Super League, a proposal revealed last year in The Daily Telegraph.

“We are looking at potential expansion. We absolutely wouldn’t rule out a New York team. “We haven’t put a lot of effort into it as yet but it’s certainly of interest. I am spending an increasing amount of time over there,” Penn said.

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Originally published as The 30-year wait for an upgrade to Brookvale Oval might be over