By Grant Jones
The Geelong Football Club has divested the Brook Hotel in south-west Melbourne to the Melbourne Racing Club in a play to ditch gaming.
The venue at 215-221 Sneezes Rd in Point Cook was first put on the market in 2016, and subsequently leased to the Cats until at least 2029 plus three further 10-year options, with an annual rent of more than $1.2 million.
The sale now follows a commitment by the club to exit gaming. At one stage, the Cats had 100 gaming machines, generating close to $4 million in annual net profits.
“We decided we need to find new revenue opportunities to ensure the club will be viable in the future, and worked with a number of parties to exit gaming,” said Geelong FC chief executive Brian Cook.
“The club also made the decision two years ago to reject any advertising or sponsorship from gambling companies.
“The feedback from members regarding our approach has been positive and we think it is in the best interest of the club.”
The Brooks property sits on 1.079ha, has 204 car spaces and a triple street frontage spanning more than 300m with the venue comprising a sports bar, bistro/restaurant, gaming room with 80 pokies and Keno, a function room and a children’s play area. The pub also draws income from a Telstra mobile phone tower on-site.
Although it was originally expected to settle early this year, the venue was shuttered and the sale delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Cook described the protracted sale as “a proud day for our club”.
“While there may have been sound reasons for entering gaming years ago, we recognised that this was not aligned with our club values and wider community expectations,” he said.
“In recent years we have been working toward a complete exit from gaming. (The Brook Hotel sale) is the culmination of those efforts.”
