An independent consultant's report on the prospect of establishing a permanent, purpose-built Georges River sporting museum has thrown up several major hurdles.
The report by Hawkridge Entertainment Service, received by the council's community and culture committee this month, looked at the potential for a sports museum at Hurstville Oval.
The report also examined Hall of Fame models and the ideal of a digital museum as alternatives to a sporting museum.
The report found that the proposed spaces at Hurstville Oval, as outlined in the draft Masterplan for Hurstville Oval and Timothy Reserve 2019 as potential areas for a sporting museum, were unsuitable due to their size.
Consideration for a sporting museum should only be given for a stand-alone facility at Hurstville Oval that can develop into a destination with additional support functions such as a café, the report found.
"There was no existing collection that could form the basis of a sporting museum for the Georges River area. Any endeavour to establish a collection would require a lengthy time to develop.
"Community engagement showed no demonstrable demand for a sporting museum to be built in the Georges River area. But there was willingness from sporting associations to assist where possible, however they did not have the capacity to do so financially."
More than 70 sporting organisations were targeted during the consultation phase, including key user groups of Hurstville Oval.
A survey asked the community what sports were of interest to them, and their desire to see a sporting museum within the area. 116 people visited the survey page, with 22 people completing the survey. 64 per cent of respondents felt there should not be a sporting museum within the area
The cost to build a physical sporting museum of 600sqm is approximately $7.2million with an ongoing cost to operate of $465,784.
"It is unlikely that there is any proponent other than Georges River Council to fund the ongoing annual operations of a sporting museum, although State or Federal Government grant funding may be accessible to cover a component of the construction costs," the report stated.
The report presents five operating models for a Georges River Sporting Museum for the council's consideration:
- Minimalist approach - A display could be accommodated within the existing Players Pavilion at Hurstville Oval.
- A purpose-built sporting museum similar in size to other Council operated/managed models, with the focus of acquiring a collection and creating exhibitions from that collection.
- A purpose-built sporting museum with exhibitions based solely on inward loans. The council would not grow its own sporting collection, and instead bring in touring exhibitions from other institutions.
- A purpose-built sporting museum with a hybrid model of inward loans and exhibitions. The council would hire travelling exhibitions and utilise other institutions' collections to create exhibitions, while also slowly building its own collection of sporting history.
- A digital/virtual museum existing without a physical space.
While the report explored the proposed spaces at Hurstville Oval it also considered other locations such as the Hurstville Civic Precinct.
The development of other sporting precincts present options for consideration of a purpose-built sporting museum.
Any future developments within a sporting precinct such as the Penshurst Park Sporting Precinct or major cultural site, such as in the Hurstville Civic and Cultural Precinct, could all present options.
A sporting museum or hall of fame would need to be either close to public transport, the Hurstville CBD or sporting facilities.
Co-location of a purpose-built museum could potentially also reduce the anticipated operational costs of such a facility.
