The sports field at Old Mutual in Pinelands.
The Mutual Sports Club says it has been left “homeless” after Old Mutual decided against renewing its lease with the club, which has been at the site owned by the company for more than 70 years.
The Old Mutual Sports Club (now Mutual Sports Club) was established in 1936. In 1950, the club moved to Mutual Park in Pinelands where it has operated from continuously except during the Covid-19 lockdown.
The club has been home to various sporting codes including athletics, cricket, hockey, soccer, squash, tennis and golf.
Club vice-chairman Paul Rist said Old Mutual had told them in August 2022 that they would need to shut down and vacate the premises by the end of December 2022.
“Old Mutual did, however, agree that the cricket section could use the fields until the end of the cricket season in March 2023. Permission was also granted for soccer to commence pre-season training on the proviso that league fixtures would be played elsewhere.
“The committee did extensive research and consulted widely with various City officials and departments to try and find land or facilities that we could utilise, without success. All the facilities, schools in and around Pinelands are fully utilised and often overused.”
Some substitute training facilities had been unsuitable for junior players, were considered dangerous in some quarters or were too secluded and poorly lit, he said.
The club had retrenched employees twice in the past three years - first because of lockdown and again after it had lost its home ground and clubhouse.
“Some of the assets built up by the club over the years had to be sold. The balance was placed in storage in an Old Mutual facility in the hope that we would find a new home soon. The committee recently decided to sell the balance of the assets as we have been informed that we need to remove the assets from the storage area.”
Old Mutual spokeswoman Nawhal Foster said the club’s declining membership had been among several factors Old Mutual had carefully considered before opting not to renew the club’s lease. She added that some facilities, such as the tennis and squash courts and the gym at Mutual Park remained open.
In February last year, Old Mutual had asked the club about its plans to become self-sustainable and upgrade the premises to “an acceptable standard”, making them safe for members, she said, adding: “The plans presented required significant financial injections from Old Mutual.”
In August 2022, Old Mutual had asked the club for a proposal on how to help it move elsewhere.
“The proposal requested that we provide financial assistance for sports venue hire, new association and club membership fees, new sporting kit for soccer and ladies cricket, storage fees for equipment and moving costs. The proposal was received on 13 October 2022. Old Mutual approved the request for financial assistance and paid R276 000 to the sports club on 21 December 2022,” said Ms Foster.
Ms Foster said the facilities could not stay open as they were unsafe for occupation and needed urgent maintenance. She did not respond to emailed questions on any future development plans for the site.
Mr Rist denied that the club’s membership had been in decline prior to Old Mutual giving it its marching orders. He claimed membership had grown from 1275 to 1404 by the end of August last year.
“Prior to receiving notice, the committee had put plans in place to upgrade the clubhouse facility with the aim of increasing the utilisation of the facility. With Old Mutual returning to the office on a part-time basis, the club had many bookings to utilise the facility for meetings and functions. This also contributed to the coffers of the club.”
Mr Rist said Old Mutual had told them that the facility and grounds were needed for development.
“We are 10 months down the line, and there are no signs of any development happening,” he said.
Pinelands resident Jack Thonissen questioned why the club could not continue to use the fields while plans were finalised for the site.
‘’The fields are sitting empty and unused. It will probably take them years and years to get approval for any development. If there are plans to develop the land, why not let the sports club continue until such time.“
Mr Rist echoed that sentiment saying it would be a great gesture on the part of Old Mutual.
“The lack of available local facilities is very frustrating for us as part of a wider sporting community. We call on Old Mutual to consider the interests of the broader sporting community and allow the various sporting codes to utilise the facilities at Mutual Park until development starts.”