Pickleball proposal not enough to save Warringah Bowling Club from administration

Warringah Bowling Club, a 122-year-old bowls club on Sydney’s North Shore, has called in administrators just months after hoping it could be saved by introducing pickleball courts.

While the introduction of pickleball at Warringah Bowls Club was intended to boost the club's financial situation and attract new members, it ultimately couldn't save the club due to a combination of factors including noise concerns from residents, perceived ‘fad’ status of the sport, and the existing financial challenges the club faced.

Warringah Bowling Club in Sydney harbourside suburb Mosman, which started in 1903 and had amassed more than 1,100 members, had plans to revive the venue with new pickleball courts.

However the club called in administrators on 8th August, four months after Warringah Bowling Club Secretary Liarne Peek told local publication Mosman Collective the venue was on the brink of closing.

Club members had voted to proceed with plans to introduce pickleball at the end of August, which was expected to bring a new revenue stream for the venue.

The plan outlined in a general meeting notice in March would see the club enter into a 12-year licence agreement with Mosman Pickleball and convert one bowling green into six pickleball courts.

Locals who attended a general meeting in April voted in favour (132 for and 28 against) for the pickleball proposal leading Peek to advise Mosman Collective that the “unanimous decision has likely secured the future of the historic ‘bowlo’.”

The proposal from Mosman Pickleball would see courts comprising of artificial grass on two thirds of one bowling green and could still be used for bowls or other sports. The club’s other bowling green would remain untouched.

In exchange for leasing 1,053 square metres, Mosman Pickleball would pay the club an annual licence fee, starting at $90,000 for the first year.

Mosman Pickleball had 450 members, with a further 500 on a waiting list due to current constraints of its court usage.

Warringah Bowls projected if each pickleball player became a club member and purchased coffees or soft drinks, they would contribute to at least a $200,000 increase in income in the first year.

The resurfacing with artificial grass would also allow other events like markets and family fun days, the club’s management wrote in the proposal.

The proposal to introduce Pickleball at the Warringah Bowling Club in Mosman ultimately failed.

The Warringah Bowls Club had already been facing financial difficulties for a long time, recording losses of over $200,000 in the past two years.

Even with the introduction of pickleball, the club needed to address its fundamental financial issues, which included rising operating costs, changing social habits, and the impact of factors like smoking bans and COVID-19.

The proposal to introduce pickleball led to a split within the community, with some residents strongly supporting the plan to save the club and others vehemently opposing it due to noise and other concerns.

This division made it more challenging to implement the plan effectively and could have further hindered the club's ability to attract new members or generate sufficient revenue.

Image top. Credit: Warringah Bowling Club; image below: Mosman Pickleball