AusLeisure

After incurring years of operational losses, the Central Coast Council has opened a tender for the management rights for the Central Coast Stadium in Gosford.

The 20,000 seat venue, home of A-League team the Central Coast Mariners, currently represents a net financial cost to Council, with annual operating losses between $841,000 and $1.4 million. Ongoing capital expenditure requirements for the venue are estimated in excess of $1 million per annum on average.

Despite the Coronavirus pandemic, the venue doubled the number of events that it hosted in 2020 staging an additional 13 NRL games.

Council has operated Central Coast Stadium for the past seven years and recently started a tender process to engage a partner for the stadium’s management rights.

Following consultation with the United Services Union, the current Central Coast Stadium venue management team, a unit within the Council, will be given an opportunity to submit a tender for the management rights of the stadium.

A news report in The Daily Telegraph suggested that “Central Coast Council staff responsible for managing the region’s only Tier 2 stadium believe they’ve done such a good job they should be able to throw their hat in the ring to bid for the management rights.”

In March, the Council noted at the time that proceeding with the award of a contract for the management rights had the potential to impact roles of existing Council staff.

Council said the experienced and dedicated venue management team had built a reputation for working with hirers to deliver outstanding events that generated significant economic benefits for the region.

The Mariners have previously sought to purchase the venue from the Council while the Council itself have been looking to secure a naming rights sponsor for it.

The Council has previously stated that the venue is “under-utilised”.

Click here for more information at the Australasian Leisure Management Tenders page.

Image: The Central Coast Stadium's picturesque location on Brisbane Water.

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