TURF CLUB CHANGES COURSE ON PUB
A MIFFED Gold Coast Turf Club has canned plans to set up an off-site bar at Bundall’s One50 Public House and will build its own licensed club at its track.
Chairman Brett Cook said the One50 move was aborted after the new owner of the property wanted to change the agreed terms of its deal.
It is understood one of the terms was that the club, which was to take a long-term lease on the building, had an option to buy One50 but the owner then lifted the price the club would have to pay.
“We were disappointed the terms were changed after we’d negotiated in good faith,” said Mr Cook.
“The new price being asked for us to buy the property was excessive. We have a responsibility to look after our members and we weren’t willing to pay that price.
“We would have been the ideal operator and would have pumped people through after race days.”
A MIFFED Gold Coast Turf Club has canned plans to set up an off-site bar at Bundall’s One50 Public House and will build its own licensed club at its track.
Chairman Brett Cook said the One50 move was aborted after the new owner of the property wanted to change the agreed terms of its deal.
It is understood one of the terms was that the club, which was to take a long-term lease on the building, had an option to buy One50 but that the owner then lifted the price the club would have to pay.
“We were disappointed the terms were changed after we’d negotiated in good faith,” Mr Cook said.
“The new price being asked for us to buy the property was excessive. We have a responsibility to look after our members and we weren’t willing to pay that price.
“We would have been the ideal operator and would have pumped people through after race days.”
Mr Cook said the club had decided it would add two floors to one of the existing buildings at its Bundall track
and run its own licensed club. “We hope that will go ahead this year – we’re already in the planning stage,” he said.
“The premises will be a fair-dinkum club and will operate seven days a week.”
Mr Cook said the club, prior to Christmas, had secured licences for 100 poker machines for the new venue.
One of the motivations for the turf club wanting to get into the bar business was to offer employment stability to staff, many of whom only get work on race days.
In September, company Club Bundall paid a company associated with developer John Hembrow $2.805m for the One50 property.
Club Bundall’s sole director
is Malaysian-born Kee Jiet Ong, 50, who also is the sole director of Club Park, which bought a nearby car park on Holden Place from the Hembrow camp for $1.21m.
Dr Ong, a Southport-based IVF specialist, on Monday said it was unfortunate the deal with the turf club did not get over the line “despite the best efforts of both parties”.
“While this deal was not meant to be, we are extremely excited that we’ll soon be unveiling plans to make the One50 property better than ever,” he said.
Dr Ong and wife Selena Young, who works in radiation oncology, in 2019 paid $8.2m for an office building in Short St, Southport.