NRL 2023: Cronulla Sharks fall into $30 million black hole amid Leagues club delays

Cronulla is slowly falling into a $30 million black hole as the development touted to turn the club into an NRL powerhouse now threatens to financially cripple the Sharks.

Cronulla’s leagues club is quickly becoming a multimillion-dollar white elephant which is now plaguing the Sharks’ bottom line.

There are serious concerns for Cronulla’s home base after it can be revealed there is now no set date for the leagues club to be reopened for trading – and is already more than 12-months overdue.

Because of ongoing delays, there is also little chance of the site being refurbished by the end of next season. Novm is the developer of the precinct.

It means Cronulla will once again host games at a construction site at PointsBet Stadium which leaves the clubs hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket through restricted crowds and minimal corporate offerings.

Repeated delays has also seen building costs blow out to a reported $30 million as the once thriving leagues club now collects dust despite the surrounding precinct nearing completion.

Cronulla’s leagues club is becoming a multimillion dollar white elephant, with no indication of when it will reopen, despite a 12 month delay. Picture: Richard Dobson

Nearby residential and commercial properties have been or are set to be completed meaning any works carried out on the leagues club will be severely restricted by the timings works are allowed to be undertaken.

It has also meant access to the site has been hard to manage. The NRL purchased a 71-room hotel adjacent to Cronulla’s home ground last month. The Quest Hotel overlooks Pointsbet Stadium.

Cronulla Sharks boss Dino Mezzatesta acknowledged “there had been many challenges to get us a committee timeline” to the reopening of their club.

“The retail, hotel and residential components of the development are still charging ahead and you may have seen reports, promotions and news articles around openings in the coming months of various retailers and the Quest Hotel,” Mezzatesta wrote to club members last week. “That being the case it is disappointing that we are not able to tell a similar story in relation to the new Leagues Club.”

Repeated delays have seen the building costs blow out by $30m.

When contacted by this masthead Mezzatesta said he had nothing further to add but remained hopeful of having more clarity ahead of a members information night next month.

Novm was also contacted for comment.

As early as February the club were hopeful of opening late this year.

The redevelopment of the leagues club has come at a huge financial cost to the club. They spent two years playing at Kogarah Oval as part of the works surrounding PointsBet Stadium.

Since returning in 2022 the most fans they have been able to squeeze into the stadium is 12,757 – well down on the 18,000 the venue can hold at full capacity.

The Sharks own the leagues club land and PointsBet Stadium but sold off a large chunk of their property which has allowed for the $752 million Woolooware Bay Town Centre development.

The club closed its doors in December, 2019 and was then forecasted to re-open in February last year.

The club’s management has tried to financially safeguard its future by purchasing Kareela Golf Club in 2020 and the former Westpac building in Cronulla earlier this year.

Originally published as NRL 2023: Cronulla Sharks fall into $30 million black hole amid Leagues club delays