Yaralla Sports Club, Gladstone

During the Diversification Symposium it was mentioned that it was sill rare in Queensland that a community club would own a well-known brand such as The Mercure, let alone in a town the size of Gladstone.

But the Central Queensland club had the right time, the right place, and the right boom on its side and the club was maximising the opportunity to its fullest. The Gladstone Mercure Hotel is Queensland’s first community-owned Accor accommodation facility after the club entered into a franchisee agreement with the hotel giant. Featuring 60 premium accommodation rooms, three meeting facilities, a large function area and two levels of secure car parking with direct connection to the sports club, the hotel is the nucleus of the project.

Its complementary developments included the expansion and resurfacing of the existing car park and a spectacularly enhanced club entry and foyer with expanded outside covered areas. The public bar, gaming room and toilet facilities were all refurbished and the back of house and staff facilities upgraded.