Cronulla will look to take their home derby match against St George Illawarra to the new Bankwest Stadium at Parramatta in 2020 and 2021 after confirming plans for the club to relocate for the next two years.
In a letter to members on Wednesday, Sharks CEO Richard Munro confirmed the club would proceed with the major redevelopment of their leagues club.
Cronulla plan to build a "world class entertainment venue" on the existing leagues club site which will require extensive building works.
The club have elected to close the leagues club for 18 months from January next year. The redevelopment will see the Sharks forced to move their home games from PointsBet Stadium, Woolooware to alternate venues for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
The club will seek the views of their members to help determine their home game strategy while also taking into account the opinions of their players.
Munro outlined an initial plan that would see Cronulla play eight of their 12 home matches at either Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Kogarah or WIN Stadium, Wollongong - the traditional homes of local rivals St George Illawarra.
The Sharks are also looking to take two home matches interstate and are considering the Sunshine Coast, Darwin, Toowoomba and New Zealand as potential venues.
The club also plan to play two marquee fixtures at the new Bankwest Stadium at Parramatta, including their home derby clash with the Dragons as to not relinquish home grand advantage to their bitter rivals.
The 30,000 seat stadium opened in April and is home to fellow NRL club Parramatta as well as A-League club Western Sydney Wanderers.
The stadium, which cost $360 million to construct, has received positive reviews during its four months of operation so far.
"We are here for the long term and part of that strategy is to have one of the most modern, successful leagues clubs in the game," Munro said.
"Unfortunately while those works are being carried out there will be a huge impact on PointsBet Stadium with reduced parking and access and a reduced capacity at the ground.
"We want to give our members and fans a great experience every time they watch the Sharks and we can only do that if we use other venues while the construction works are carried out."
The Leader understands the club will also consider a potential "Back to Shark Park Day" in each of the two seasons that they are away from Woolooware.
Though whether playing any games at Shark Park would be feasible would be dependent on the progress of the building works, the NRL and the season draw.
