Bright New Future for Coorparoo Bowls Club
Bowls Queensland has secured a bright new future for Coorparoo Bowls Club, with the site to be sold to Queensland based Griffin Hospitality Group under an agreement that guarantees the continuation of bowls at the venue.
The agreement will see Coorparoo Bowls Club renewed and reinvigorated as a family-friendly community venue, while ensuring bowls remains at the heart of the site for many years to come.
As part of the agreement, the existing bowls club will benefit from a significant refurbishment of its clubhouse, bar and kitchen – a multiple-year lease, providing the club with greater certainty and stability.
Importantly, both existing bowling greens will be retained.
One green will be dedicated to competition bowls, while the second will continue to provide opportunities for recreational bowls, community activities and broader participation.
Bowls Queensland CEO Fletcher Dyson said the agreement represented an important step forward for both Coorparoo Bowls Club and the sport across Queensland.
“We have spent considerable time exploring the future of this site and assessing a range of options. Our responsibility has been to balance the interests of the Coorparoo bowling community with our responsibility to the 27,000 members of Bowls Queensland”.
“This agreement gives us the opportunity to secure the long-term future of bowls at Coorparoo while also creating a more vibrant, sustainable and community-focused venue”.
“This agreement provides a pathway for the Coorparoo Bowls Club’s long-term financial sustainability and to continue it’s almost 100-year legacy, while allowing the club and its members to focus on what they do best – playing and growing the sport of bowls.”
The new owner, Griffin Hospitality Group, operates the popular Officers Mess venue at New Farm and has plans to create a similar family-friendly hospitality experience at Coorparoo.
Will Griffin from Griffin Hospitality Group said its vision “was to create a venue where the broader community could come together, with bowls remaining central to the operation”.
“We want Coorparoo to be a place where families and kids are welcome, with good food, reasonably priced drinks and bowls at the heart of the venue,”.
CEO Bowls Queensland Fletcher Dyson said Bowls Queensland had received a number of commercial proposals for the property, but the Board’s priority was never simply to accept the highest offer.
“We had a number of options available to us, but we were very clear that the future of bowls had to be at the centre of our decision”.
“We have chosen an outcome that protects the greens, provides certainty for the club and creates an opportunity to introduce more people to bowls here in Queensland”.
“This agreement allows the bowlers at Coorparoo to continue to roll without carrying the responsibility of running a hospitality business”.
“At the same time, it allows Bowls Queensland to direct resources into growing, promoting and developing bowls right across Queensland for the benefit of all 27,000 of our members.”
The agreement represents a significant change in the future operating model of Coorparoo Bowls Club, while maintaining the venue’s role as a home for bowls and an important community asset.
Bowls Queensland said it looked forward to working with Will Griffin of the Griffin Hospitality Group and the Coorparoo Bowls Club Management to deliver the next chapter in the club’s history.
Mark Delbridge, Chair, Coorparoo Bowls Club
“This is a really exciting new chapter for Coorparoo Bowls Club. Our members are incredibly proud of the club’s history, and the opportunity to see the venue renewed while keeping bowls at the heart of the site is a fantastic outcome”.
“Most importantly, our two bowling greens will be retained, giving us the ability to continue offering competitive bowls as well as more opportunities for social, recreational and community bowls”.
“The commitment to refurbish the clubhouse, bar and kitchen, combined with the security of a multiple-year lease, gives our club the stability and confidence we need to move forward. It means our members can concentrate on playing bowls, bringing new people into the sport and making Coorparoo a great community club”.
“We thank Bowls Queensland CEO Fletcher Dyson for the work he has done to secure this outcome and for recognising the importance of Coorparoo Bowls Club to the Queensland bowls community. We also thank the Community for its phenomenal support throughout the process. We are genuinely excited about working with Will Griffin and Bowls Queensland to build a new and vibrant future for the Club”.
Will Griffin, Griffin Hospitality Group
“We see an enormous opportunity to give Coorparoo Bowls Club a bright new future while respecting everything that has made this venue so special for almost 100 years. Our vision is to invest in the club, reinvigorate the facilities and create a welcoming, family-friendly destination that the local community can be proud of.
“Importantly, bowls will remain at the heart of the venue. We want to build on the club’s strong bowling tradition while creating a vibrant hospitality experience that brings more families, younger people and the broader Coorparoo community through the doors.
“This is about renewal, not losing the character of Coorparoo Bowls Club. We want to preserve its sense of community and its unique identity, while giving it the investment, energy and professional hospitality focus it needs to thrive for the next generation.
“Our ambition is for people to be able to come to Coorparoo Bowls Club to play bowls, enjoy a meal, catch up with friends, bring the family or simply be part of the community. We believe there is a genuine opportunity to create something very special here, and we are excited about working with Coorparoo Bowls Club and the local community to make that vision a reality.”
Mark Delbridge Chair Coorparoo Bowls – 0420 724 815
Will Griffin – Griffin Hospitality – 0410 347 275
Fletcher Dyson CEO Bowls Queensland – 0427 443 695