@cqtiger said in [Revealed: Secret bid to buy battling Tigers](/post/1355938) said:
Can someone clear something up for me please? What were the reasons of Balmain Leagues Club closing?
I thought that initially the BLC wanted to expand their club so they were firstly buying up adjacent properties. This was before Elias?
Multiple development plans were submitted to council and each were rejected because of height of planned unit towers?
I thought that was when Elias came in with different developers.
BLC building at Rozelle was vacated and temporary clubs set up at Five Dock bowls club and Flemington markets I thought because of NSW gov’t wanting to build new tunnel or rail system and wanted the Rozelle site for early construction setup? Then nothing happened from the gov’t side but Rozelle site was left neglected?
Pretty concise summary of what happened mate. The club was drowning in debt due in part to buying up adjacent property for the redevelopment. Benny's consortium bought the site in exchange for clearing the clubs debt. There were a number of rejected DA put in. The site was then going to be used by the government for the metro so the club moved out.
The metro was scrapped and more DAs were put in and rejected. BLC had to borrow more during this time including from the NRL, which resulted in the independent directors on the board.
Eventually BLC started to sell its only remaining assets, shares in the Wests Tigers. WA increased its share by paying off BLC's debts.
The government spoke about acquiring the site for a dive site for the tunnel, so Leichhardt council finally approved a development on the site.
Ok thanks mate.
I just wanted to be clear that Elias wasn’t to blame for all BLC problems.
But you don’t know that is the case. On the surface it would appear to be but you don’t know what influences were at play during the whole process from beginning until the site was sold to the Elias consortium.
Correct, and neither do you