Hakoah Club whittles down the options
AFTER looking at more than 50 possible new sites, Hakoah Club president Phil Filler said there are only "half-a-dozen options left" for the famous club.
JOSHUA LEVI
AFTER looking at more than 50 possible new sites, Hakoah Club president Phil Filler said there are only “half-a-dozen options left” for the famous club.
And he told members those options do not include a pared back version of the bustling Hall Street premises.
Speaking at the club’s annual general meeting on Sunday, Filler said the new club must be able to attract new members.
“I can confirm we have looked well and truly at over 50 proposals that have been put to us and the board has certainly come to the conclusion that a smaller version of Hall Street will not happen and will not work,” Filler said. “It isn’t commercially viable anymore because the club industry is in decline.”
He blamed the decline on changes to poker machine regulations.
“The poker machine industry has suffered due to increased gaming taxes, non-competitive restrictions, non-smoking policy, visibility of clocks, gaming machines in pubs and restricted hours,” he said.
The Hakoah Club’s Hall Street premises were sold to the Toga Group in 2007 for $18 million and the club closed its doors on November 4 last year. The site housed gaming facilities, dining areas, function rooms, a gym and swimming pool.
Filler said the new club headquarters, which the board has been looking for for three years, needs to be new and vibrant.
“We have looked at a few venues we were very serious about and all of those venues had such things as gymnasiums, swimming pools, various sporting facilities, vast function areas with a nice ambience and excellent dining facilities.
“We have had consultants from Clubs NSW, from the Jewish Communal Appeal and a number of different professional organisations to look at our plans for the new venue.”
Outgoing board member Charles Kaplan, who stepped down for personal reasons after six years on the board, said he is confident Hakoah has a future in Sydney.
“While it is disappointing to come to another meeting without a solution for the club, I still believe that something will happen reasonably soon,” he said.
“If we wait and we are patient we will get what we are looking for because there are a few things on the go still and if a few things fall our way we could have a very good new club.”
Meanwhile, longstanding Hakoah Club members, Peter Grunfeld and Phil Opit, were elected to the board at the AGM, which was held at Double Bay Bowls Club.
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