One of Canberra's oldest rugby clubs has gone into voluntary administration amid changing regulations and a decrease in revenue.
The Wests Rugby Club posted a company notice in yesterday's Canberra Times, on the same day as a report commissioned by Clubs ACT was issued on the socio-economic impact of Canberra's clubs.
The report found that while membership had increased by 25 per cent in the past five years, revenue was down.
The report found the drop in revenue was due to a number of challenges, including changes in gaming laws and the recent smoking ban.
It also said some clubs would be forced to diversify their revenue streams and reduce community contributions in the next few years as a way of dealing with the challenges.
One of the administrators appointed by the Wests Rugby Club, Eddie Senatore of SBR Insolvency and Reconstruction, said yesterday that like a number of Canberra's clubs, Wests Rugby had fallen behind in adequate planning for changed to the gaming and smoking laws.
He said the club's major reconstruction work, which was completed last year, had also led to a significant downturn in the club's revenue.
But Wests Rugby Club president Craig Seaton maintained that the club had put a lot of thought into the extensions several years ago to ensure the new facilities catered for gamblers' needs.
These didn't seemed to have worked, he said, and the future was now uncertain.
"We have a few option, but they're out of our control," Mr Seaton said.
"The club's now in the hands of people who don't have the love for the place that the board of directors have."
But, as Mr Senatore pointed out, it's early days yet.
"Wests is beautifully positioned, it's a good-looking club, but it has yet to deal with some of these issues," he said.
"But there's a lot of potential for work up there."
The City RSL, once a favourite haunt for university students, is another casualty from what the Clubs ACT report described as the "significant challenges" facing the sector.
The club looks set to close or change ownership in the near future.
The administrator appointed by the City RSL, Steve Hundy, also from SBR, said that while the club had gone into voluntary administration for a number of reasons, the lack of planning to adapt to the recent smoking ban had been a main factor.
The club has no outdoor facilities.
"Another thing is that there's been a lack of refurbishment to the club's premises for some time, whereas other clubs have gone and modernised their premises," he said.
He said the club's turnover had been slowly deteriorating for some time, and that administrators were now looking at a number of options to try to secure the club's future.
Mr Senatore said the majority of clubs in Canberra were more prepared for the challenges ahead, but that a few had failed to take regulatory reforms into account when forming strategies.