Long-term plans for Cleveland Bowls Club revealed as venue acquired

The struggling Cleveland Bowls Club has been thrown a lifeline in the form of a takeover by a leagues club that plans to transform the venue.

The announcement that Carina Leagues Club has acquired Cleveland Bowls Club comes as bowls clubs throughout the country fight to keep their doors open.

Cleveland chair Darryl McConochie said the venue was struggling with cashflow and had been at risk of closure.

“We hadn’t hit the point of insolvency, and basically the negotiations were all about stopping us from getting to that point,” he said.

McConochie highlighted increased staff costs as a particular challenge.

No major developments are planned at the Middle Street site until at least 2029, with the first three to five years devoted to achieving financial stability.

After that, a master plan will be lodged for renovation of the site, with the intention to turn it into a destination venue.

There is a contractual agreement to retain at least two bowling greens in perpetuity.

A spokesperson for the new owners would not elaborate on the long-term vision, but said it would not stray from the club’s core purpose.

McConochie said he understood possible future unit development was one of several options being considered.

“When a club closes, the community doesn’t just lose a venue – it loses community connection and reinvestment in its grassroots,” Carina Leagues Club CEO Adam Wiencke said in a statement.

“Our role as an evolving multi-site operator is to ensure these vital community hubs are not lost.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Carina Leagues Club will assume all existing debts and mortgages of Cleveland Bowls Club and take over the land leases.

McConochie said the struggling club had looked at multiple options, and members decided the Carina takeover would best preserve the site as a bowling venue.

“What it’s done is it’s given us a long-term future.

“It was a major commitment for them, and I’ve got to give them full credit for the fact that they really supported us.”

The Cleveland venue was founded in 1941, and comprises three bowling greens, a bar and restaurant. It has about 270 bowls-playing members and more than 2000 community members.

The acquisition is not the Carina Leagues Club’s first expansionist venture.

In December, it announced plans for a $25 million development with new restaurants and bars along Fox Street in Wynnum on Brisbane’s bayside.

The pavilion would include a cafe and fish-and-chips takeaway, a 300-seat restaurant with private dining rooms, rooftop bar, function spaces and a sports bar lounge.

Dubbed the “Bayside Pavilion”, it is scheduled to open in 2028. Construction would likely start in 2027.

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