History

In February 1958, the Bankstown District Cricket Association passed a motion to meet with other interested sporting bodies about forming a district sporting club to provide off-field amenities and support for local sports men and women. Members had to be over 21 and play sport.

No 8 Greenfield Parade, formerly a Latter Day Saints Church, was purchased the same year as the site for the new club. Later, the club obtained its license and was officially named Bankstown District Sports Club.

From 243 members (all men) in the club’s early days, the club’s membership has grown to more than 50,000 today covering the breadth and depth of the local community. At the same time, the club’s support for local sporting groups has grown to cover more than 40 different sports.

In the 50 years since 1958, the club’s executive has never stood still. It has constantly improved the facilities for its members – beginning as early as 1961 on a new building.

In the past two years alone, the club has developed the La Piazza precinct – with its Italian restaurant, pizzeria, pasticceria, gelataria and wine bar – the ’wichcraft cafe, the Grand Ballroom and Grand Hall the expanded carpark. The club has also redeveloped Baulkham Hills Sports Club and Bankstown Sports Bowls Club.

Today, with over 50,000 members, affiliations with 40 sports clubs and employees in excess of 500, Bankstown Sports has grown and developed to become one of the most contemporary clubs in New South Wales.

Message from the Premier...

It’s a great honour to write a few words for this bumper edition of Bankstown SportsINTOUCH to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Bankstown Sports Club.

A 50^th anniversary is, of course, a golden anniversary – and these are truly golden times for Bankstown Sports.

The Club is thriving and growing, with new facilities and services that are as good as any club in Australia.

Last year, for example, saw the opening of the splendid La Piazza precinct. This year has seen a new coffee shop and carparking facilities. The progress just keeps rolling. 

Looking back over five decades, it is clear this achievement didn’t happen by magic. It has happened because endless hard work and sacrifice by dedicated officials, staff and members, who had a positive vision of what this club could contribute to the local community.

Therefore everyone associated with Bankstown Sports Club should take great pride in this anniversary – a time to celebrate the past and look forward to another 50 years of achievement and excellence.

Morris Iemma MP
Premier of New South Wales

Message from the ClubsNSW CEO...

Reaching fifty years of age is no less an achievement for a club than a person. Indeed one could argue it is even more significant for Bankstown Sports Club to have reached such a grand age given the tens of thousands of people who have come to consider the club and its staff as part of an extended family of sorts.

The manner in which the people of Bankstown and its neighbouring suburbs have embraced Bankstown Sports Club over the last fifty years is due reward for a club that clearly knows their best asset is their members.

The Club has right from the early days worked tirelessly to establish itself as a vital part of the Bankstown community. Whether it be supporting the Canterbury Bulldogs or the under 15 netball team, Bankstown Sports Club is always lending a hand. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship where both club and community work together, thereby ensuring no one gets left behind.

When Bankstown Sports Club was first established in 1958, its founding objective was to promote and grow sport in the local area. Fifty years later, the Club has surpassed even the most lofty of ambitions.

While the Club has been regularly praised and rightly so for its commitment to sport, I would like to use this opportunity to instead write about the non sporting achievements of the Bankstown Sports Club.

During the past twelve months, the Club has donated $1 million to local community and sporting groups. The majority of these recipients rely on the generosity of Bankstown Sports Club and sometimes other local clubs, for the majority of their funding. It is a support you will most likely never hear discussed on radio or in the newspapers because acknowledgement is not the Club’s motivation. Instead they are driven by the same desire that created the Australian Club Movement; a simple wish to strengthen local communities.

One example of how the Club is making a real difference in the community occurred last year when ClubsNSW became aware that stroke victims in western Sydney were sometimes suffering permanent paralysis as a result of the lengthy transportation time required to reach the Royal North Shore Hospital. Local clubs came together for a night of fundraising, donating more than $700,000 so that an INR unit could be purchased for the Westmead Hospital. Not for the first time, the largest donation came from Bankstown Sports Club, their $100,000 contribution coming to life on the 1st of August this year when the much needed equipment was officially switched on.

Indeed the Club’s commitment to supporting our health system is one that commenced several decades ago. More than $1.5 million has been donated to the Bankstown District Hospital and over $2 million has been given to the Bankstown City Frail Aged Care.

Bankstown Sports Club is fortunate to have two superb leaders in Chief Executive Officer John Mackay and President John Murray and ably supported by Assistant CEO Mark Condi. Knowing these men well, I am continually impressed by their commitment to excellence as well as their innovative business practices.

Working together, along with a staff of almost 500, they have developed Bankstown Sports club into what is arguably the equal of any club anywhere in Australia. The Club is the prototype for income diversification, providing a range of services and facilities for members which have been outstanding successes based on detailed research and a willingness to listen to their members.

Themed restaurants such as La Piazza, complete with all the charm of old world Italy, as well as Platform One, a fine dining experience set in two Orient Express rail carriages, demonstrate the Club’s willingness to create the unexpected.

The NSW Club Industry is the market leader in hosting conferences and events. Some of this success must be attributed to Bankstown Sports Club, which was one of the first clubs in NSW to tap into the market. In keeping with the Club’s commitment to excellence, their conference centre features the most advanced acoustic system in Australia. It is a centre that I have recommended to numerous clubs who have been considering entering the conference and functions market.

It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the contribution to the Club by the Member for Bankstown, Tony Stewart. Tony has and continues to be a wonderful advocate for both Bankstown Sports Club and the broader club movement. I have no doubt Tony’s strong support for the industry has been positively influenced by Bankstown Sports Club’s tireless work supporting the local community.

I would like to congratulate both the current and former staff and directors of the Bankstown Sports club upon reaching its silver anniversary. Furthermore, I would like to thank the entire Bankstown community for supporting and growing this wonderful club.

David Costello
Chief Executive Officer
ClubsNSW