Police hunt men who
ran from club fire
LACHLAN LEEMING
POLICE are investigating reports two men were seen running from near the Balmain Leagues Club shortly before the decrepit site went up in flames on Saturday afternoon.
Authorities have deemed the blaze - which further damaged the already gutted and decaying former club - as suspicious, after fire ripped through the structure about 4.30pm.
The fire was extinguished by Fire and Rescue NSW officers a short time later, with officers from Leichhardt Police Area Command establishing a crime scene.
The cause of the fire remains unknown with police now pursuing reports that two men were seen running from the area shortly after it went up.
The site has been abandoned since 2010, with $400m plans by developer Heworth approved in 2020 greenlighting a rebuilt club, 167 apartments, and a supermarket, allowing the Wests Tigers to return to their Rozelle home.
However that project could still be a decade away from fruition, with Transport SW acquiring the site late last year, with plans to use it for seven years as a dirt dump during the construction of the 17.8km Western Harbour Tunnel.
Inner West Council Mayor Darcy Byrne on Sunday said it was "no surprise" the eyesore -now a haven for graffiti and bearing little resemblance to the buzzing club it once was - went up in flames.
He said he had repeatedly called for the building to be demolished.