THE Queanbeyan Bowling Club is on the verge of going under voluntary administration after a meeting last week saw it address its latest debt issues and further ways to make the club profitable again.
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While it is unclear who will administer the club and when, the club confirmed to The Queanbeyan Age it had entered a voluntary administration agreement, but declined to provide any further details.
However a spokesperson from the Bowls ACT Association, of which the Queanbeyan Bowling Club is a member of, confirmed the club had cancelled its biggest event of the year- the men's masters pairs- which it stated was in light of the club's current financial situation.
"The big tournament they run every year has been cancelled," the spokesperson said.
"You can't take people's money for an event just weeks down the track and not be able to guarantee the facilities fully functioning... It's a pre-emptive safety precaution."
The club, which boasts assets of $6 million across its five bowling greens and licensed club, confirmed back in July it was facing "significant" debt that had been rising over a number of years.
It moved this year to close its premises on Mondays to save costs, and increased its playing fees, and has given a January deadline as to whether it will reduce its number of bowling greens from five down to three.
The club's decision to enter voluntary administration also comes after it publicly declared it would no longer be able to fund the women's bowling club under its current financial trend, of which funds from the men's side of the club had been used for maintenance of the women's side.
While both sides are part of the same club, the women operate socially under their own constitution, and have two of the club's five greens.
Rising costs of maintaining bowling greens and declines in poker machine and bar revenue have been blamed by the club for losing revenue.
However, it successfully applied to the Queanbeyan City Council to have its women's club's land rates, as that side of the club sits on Crown land, halved, and also reported increased trading in its bistro and sponsorship.
But the spokesperson said the club still had to consider the costs they had to meet in the future, and how to deal with that.
"They're very asset rich. They've got a lot of land and facilities there, and they need to rationalise whether or not having those facilities is the right way to go," they said.
A residential property also sits on the club's land, and it is believed it is attempting to sell this to incur more funds, but according to Bowls ACT, this move was still "up in the air".
"If the house was to sell quickly, it wouldn't be an issue [for the club], but if it takes a year to sell, it probably would be," the spokesperson said.
"There are a wide range of options on the table the club needs to consider, whether that be selling things off, down sizing, or even merging with other clubs."
