Sydney's Belfield Bowling Club lists two of its bowling greens

Sydney’s Belfield Bowling Club is selling off two bowling greens, allowing it to reinvest in the club to ensure its ongoing appeal to a younger generation of players. 

The Club will retain ownership of one green and the existing clubhouse.

The Belfield property sits 13 kilometres south west of Sydney in the Canterbury-Bankstown area.

CBRE’s Peter Vines, Victor Sheu and Robert Dowdy are marketing the two greends, as well as the car park, which span a total site area of 4,000 sqm.

The site is permissible for residential, aged care, child care, affordable housing developments and place of public worship (STCA). 

Vines said the sale would enable Belfield Bowling Club to invest in the future, while unlocking a unique development opportunity in Sydney’s tightly held inner-west. 

“Bowling clubs have been at the heart of Australian communities for decades, being the focal point for meetings, events, wedding receptions and a host of other community activities," Vines said.

"In more recent years however, closures have become more common, with reduced membership numbers due to an ageing population and demand for space in the city at a premium."  

Over the past decade, there have been 89 bowling club closures across NSW, with 508 clubs still in operation, including 100 clubs in the Sydney metropolitan area. 

Robert Dowdy said in the face of headwinds, clubs were reinventing themselves in order to attract a new generation of players. 

“Many clubs have found new members by embracing barefoot bowls – a more relaxed approach to the game that allows participants to be casually dressed and partake in friendly competition,” Dowdy said.

The Greens of North Sydney transformed itself into a more trendier place for younger people to socialise. 

“Clubs are also freeing up bowling greens for beer gardens alongside restaurants/bistros – or, as evidenced with this Belfield Bowling Club, divesting parts to spark development and attract new clientele.”