Hakoah to re-invent itself
Sydney’s Hakoah Club is on the move…to a new location and a new look.
Club president Phil Filler told J-Wire that the deal for the proposed new location was not yet finalised and therefore he cannot divulge where it will be.
cccBut Filler is very definite of what he wants it to be. He said: “There is no way we are going to recreate the existing Hakoah. The new club will be designed from the bottom up to appeal to the entire community and especially focusing on young families and children. Foremost in our plans, however, it to be able to offer gym and pool facilities with other amenities befitting the current times and future trends.” When questioned, Filler admitted that the proposed new location would have outdoor facilities.
Filler said he was grateful to all those who had stuck with the club over the years but said the time had come to give the concept a complete make-over. The Club had grown old with its membership. He told the meeting that Hakoah had signed a deal to remain at its current Bondi location until November 4, by which time he hoped that the new facility would be ready.
He added: “The plan is aimed at making the Club attractive to a new generation of Sydneysiders who will have at their disposal amenities which will make it a club to be proud of.”
Filler told the Club’s AGM on Monday night that contrary to rumours, all work carried out by Board members was on a pro bono basis. He dismissed any notion that the Club should close its doors. He told the meeting “Founders of the Club would roll over in their graves if we were to give our money away for causes that had nothing to do with Hakoah. He told the meeting: “The format of the Club is going stale…it is time to find a new vibrancy.”
After listing all the community organisations who use the Club for meetings and functions, Filler turned his focus on the Club’s original raison d’etre…soccer, telling the meeting that the Club now had Hakoah teams playing under 13, 14, 15, 16 and 18 age levels, teams that would ultimately feed the NSW Soccer Federation’s State League 2.
Hakoah Club showed an operating loss of $165,560 but had a positive cash flow in 2008 of over $300,000.
