Centre of Excellence/new 3,000 Seat Grandstand at Brookie – timeline updates here?

[Eagles Nest 78]

Some people were asking about this and where does this currently stand with the proposed construction of grandstand facilities and a Centre of Excellence at Brookvale Oval?

No proper development proposal is in front of Northern Beaches Council yet? Anyone could research that?

The only mention was at Council Meeting 16 APRIL 2019 as at item (see highlighted below):

https://files.northernbeaches.nsw.g...019/signedordinarycouncilminutes-20190416.pdf
16 APRIL 2019 - MINUTES OF ORDINARY COUNCIL MEETING
13.3 REQUEST FOR LAND OWNER'S CONSENT BROOKVALE OVAL – PROPOSED GRANDSTAND AND CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE
NOTE: During debate the Chief Executive Officer recommended that any further debate in relation this item should be dealt with in closed session due to its confidential nature.

That Council approve the provision of land owner’s consent for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles to lodge a development application for the construction of grandstand facilities and a Centre of Excellence at Brookvale Oval.

PROCEDURAL MOTION - CHANGE TO ORDER OF BUSINESS
127/19 RESOLVED: That the order of business be changed so Item 13.3 – Request for Land Owner’s Consent Brookvale Oval – Proposed Grandstand and Centre of Excellence be moved to the end of the meeting and be dealt with in closed session in accordance with 10A(2)(c) of the Local Government

_________________________________________________________________________________________

So the Steps would be:

The Council has to give consent for ‘Manly Warringah Sea Eagles’ to lodge a development application on the land they don’t own. Where is that now since that April ‘19 council meeting?

1. Once that’s approved Manly would need to get all the architect drawings, planning & formal development proposal. etc and lodge with council - has not got to that stage? Example would they have to incorporate an underground carpark as part of the development proposal? Might be required?
2. Once approved by Council then a full Tender process awarded to a reputable building company to be within the $36m budget.
3. Timeline to complete, 9 months, 12 months, 15 months? Commencing excavation and building could start from Aug/Sept 2020 the best case? To fit into the end NRL 2020 scheduling then into 2021 Sea Eagles scheduling? Could Manly play some games at Brookie if the whole Northern end is out for say third or half of a season?

Nice to get an update in the next month or so where this all stands, as we may be still on 1) per my understanding?

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

Yes it would. Probably one of the issues brought on in part by a revolving door of CEOs, some of them not even fulltimers.

However it’s a start and the decision to delay the new playing surface installation was one Club and Council agreed to.

In the past, schemes have been announced by the Club (Grant Mayer’s 2008 top deck on the Jane Try for one) with no input nor knowledge of the Council.

 

[sheridanstand78]

The clock is ticking, right now its pie in the sky. I think we have a window of about 3 years before we are under enormous pressure from the NRL and government to play out of the new SFS. Time will tell, last Saturday proved that on a rainy day Brooky really struggles!

 

[tookey]

Manly-Warringah was home to a state Premier (Mike Baird) and a Prime Minister (Tony Abbott) for two years between 2014-15.

The current NSW Premier – Gladys Berejikilian – claims to be a Sea Eagles tragic.

Yet for all that political clout, the only love Brookvale Oval has seen is a soon-to-be constructed Centre of Excellence compete with 3000 extra seats

It’s a start but in reality it’s lipstick on a pig. The old girl needs a complete overhaul to bring it into the 21st century.

The Will Chambers episode, where a fan was able to get to him through a gap in a sliding cage in the players’ tunnel, again illustrated the inadequacies of the ground.

That cage has been in operation since The Repeat Set was a young boy.

It’s had some Perspex cladding added to it and a few dozen cans of WD40 sprayed on it, but it’s basically the same contraption Wombat Eadie, Bozo Fulton, Fatty and others ran through in the 1970s and 80s.

It’s not good enough in 2019.

Blame politicians all you like for the lack of progress but Manly owner Scott Penn had the chance to bring Brookvale Oval into the 21st century and knocked it back.

The one fair-dinkum consortium keen on buying the Sea Eagles had an entire blueprint for the Brookvale Oval precinct.

The ground itself would have undergone a major transformation – leading to a state-of-the-art stadium for a variety of sports and training facilities – and the area around it turned into a retail and accommodation hub.

This consortium, based overseas, is an expert in major developments and has picked off much bigger projects than a football stadium and precinct.

There would have been some red tape to cut through but their vision was exciting and innovative

None of it will happen now, with Penn exercising his right not to sell.

As a result, Brookvale Oval will not see major improvement for a long time to come.

https://www.sportingnews.com/au/lea...weekend-finals-2019/amybemmb7kff1xgiqccv43r1p

 

[Harvies elbow]

Bit hard for Penn to sell councils property I would have thought...

 

[Loobs]

All good. Lyle is project managing this so I’m sure it’s in safe hands. Although the funds will be down a few mill after Lyle pays Tom and Jake’s invoices to stay at Manly um for “consulting fees”

 

[Ben]

All good. Lyle is project managing this so I’m sure it’s in safe hands. Although the funds will be down a few mill after Lyle pays Tom and Jake’s invoices to stay at Manly um for “consulting fees”

Didn’t Lyle get a new job a week after his project management roll with us?

 

[Lindsay Drake]

Money is in the Bank so i say yes - starts end of next year along with surface upgrade.

Of course nothing is ever certain in the world of Brookie, councils etc

I bumped into the minister of Sport in NSW (John Sedoti) a few weeks back and I asked him if the money is actually there for Brookie upgrade. His reply was words to the effect "yes the money is there but if you guys don't hurry up to use it I will take it and give it to someone else who will do something with it'.

 

[chuckee]

It’s depressing seeing how good bankwest stadium is. I absolutely love Brookie but the old girl is run down now and stuck in the dark ages. Something needs to be done ASAP, we’ve been hearing about it for years.
The COE is a good start but really the Jane Try and F-M stands needs to be hit with a wrecking ball and knocked down. They are absolute s###.
If we had something a quarter as good as Bankwest I’d be happy. I’ve always been content with brookie but I don’t think there can be any mucking around anymore.

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

I bumped into the minister of Sport in NSW (John Sedoti) a few weeks back and I asked him if the money is actually there for Brookie upgrade. His reply was words to the effect "yes the money is there but if you guys don't hurry up to use it I will take it and give it to someone else who will do something with it'.

Sidoti is blowing hot air. Anyone who follows suburban ground upgrades knows that there is still an approvals process to be negotiated, design, tendering etc. A $30 million+ upgrade will not start a bare six months after the announcement that funding has been secured. It would be no different in Sidoti’s bailiwick.

The Council are onboard with this. Paradoxically the earlier announcement that the playing surface upgrade will be delayed, to coincide with construction start at the end of the 2020 season, is as good an indication as any that it will go ahead.

 

[Briza]

Not an update but???
How good did Parra stadium look v Broncos, they seem to grow a leg there this season.
Imagine the Fortress Brookie and the hoodoo's if we had 25k+ at Brookie most weeks?

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

18,000 capacity boutique stadium is all we'd need.
Most NBA teams in the US only have similar capacities, the trick is to have them sold out in advance. Over time, with clever marketing and membership strategies there's no reason that wouldn't work for us. Correction, the only reason would be continued lack of support/active sabotage from the NRL. Who knows, maybe under V'Landys the emphasis will change.

 

[Briza]

18,000 capacity boutique stadium is all we'd need.
Most NBA teams in the US only have similar capacities, the trick is to have them sold out in advance. Over time, with clever marketing and membership strategies there's no reason that wouldn't work for us. Correction, the only reason would be continued lack of support/active sabotage from the NRL. Who knows, maybe under V'Landys the emphasis will change.

But but but Toddy said to qualify for his NRL home semifinals we need 24k

 

[Mitch]

In depth update on what to expect on completion of the COE!

https://www.seaeagles.com.au/about/centre-of-excellence/

 

[Mark from Brisbane]

In depth update on what to expect on completion of the COE!

https://www.seaeagles.com.au/about/centre-of-excellence/

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Read that a moment ago on the MWSE app, whilst I don’t doubt it’s happening I’ll only believe it when the workers arrive on site.

 

[mjb136]

Just saw the email about this, looks like it's a go-er

 

[The Who]

One thing that will need to be changed is the site of the video screen. In the latest CGI it shows the screen in the corner of the north-eastern side of the ground. This would make it un-visible to those on the Hill, unless there is to be a second video screen installed elsewhere.
These days spectators are looking at video screens as much as live action so it is an important feature of all RL grounds.

 

[tookey]

Is this not just a duplication of what we already have at Narrabeen?

Expensive way to get a new stand at the northern end of the ground

 

[The better Robbo]

Can anybody tell me if we will be training fulltime at brookie? I know the surface is getting an upgrade too but as far as i know its not common to train on the field you play. Anyone have any knowledge on this? Obviously we will use the centre of excellence for gym and physio etc but will we still use Narrabeen for ball work and field training?

 

[HappilyManly]

One thing that will need to be changed is the site of the video screen. In the latest CGI it shows the screen in the corner of the north-eastern side of the ground. This would make it un-visible to those on the Hill, unless there is to be a second video screen installed elsewhere.
These days spectators are looking at video screens as much as live action so it is an important feature of all RL grounds.

It's not just a video screen but acts as the scoreboard at every ground

Not sure if the residents around Brookie will allow any changes at Brookie - we've been through this process for decades 😎

The lack of parking is not an issue as CBUS, Suncorp, WIN, Penrith etc all require Fans to walk quite a distance from where they can park