Roosters chairman Nick Politis preparing $500m parting gift for his club

Status
Not open for further replies.

Kennelnator

Kennel Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 20, 2016
Messages
1,051
Reaction score
1,447
For the past 25 years, Roosters chairman Nick Politishas sat in the same seat — row N, bay 62, seat 1 — at Allianz Stadium to watch his beloved team.

When the stadium is knocked down following next Friday’s Michael Buble concert, the SCG Trust will give Politis the seat as a souvenir.

It's a nice touch but a more pressing question is how much longer will Politis, 76, be sitting on the throne of the Roosters?
Master of all he surveys: Nick Politis in his seat at Allianz Stadium.
Photo: Carl Drury/SCG Trust
Will a grand final victory over the Storm on Sunday night prompt Politis to step back and hand over the chairmanship?

“No mate,” Politis said. “I haven’t thought about retirement”.
Advertisement
Then he let out his signature giggle.

“Can we just wait and see if we win first? One step at a time. But I won’t be retiring.”

Politis certainly understands, though, that he can’t run the club forever and is preparing for the future. His end-game is to deliver a property portfolio worth $500 million before he finishes.

He might have made his way in the world selling cars but much of his fortune can be attributed to property. He was last year ranked No.82 on The Australian Financial Review's Rich List with an estimated wealth of $773 million.

On his watch, the Roosters have snapped up Waverley Bowling Club, Berkeley Sports, Kingswood Sports Club and Woy Woy Leagues. They also plan to turn North Bondi Golf and Diggers Club into a multi-purpose sports centre.

The centrepiece is a redeveloped Easts Leagues in Bondi Junction. The club has snapped up most of the property on the L-shaped block on the corner of Spring Street and Bronte Road with a long-term plan to turn it into a lucrative high-rise development.

Politis knows his club can’t survive on poker machine revenue forever and wants to leave it in safe hands for the next custodians of the club.

“That should be any chairman's objective,” he said. “At the moment, our commercial property is valued at $120m and we have no debt. Next year, we will have $10m in cash in the bank. We’re in a very good position financially.”

Now to the small matter of finding the next chairman.

This column raised the question at the start of the year when rumours started floating around that Politis was about to stand down. It is no closer to being answered.

Former David Jones boss Mark McInnes was being prepared to take over but he’s since left the board. Former Nine boss David Gyngell is a possibility. So, too, is businessman Mark Bouris.

Powerful TV executive Mark Fennessy is an important board member who was fundamental in getting fullback James Tedesco to the club when Politis refused to deal with Tedesco’s manager, Isaac Moses, after a spectacular fallout.

But Fennessy, like many on the club’s high-powered board, doesn't have the time to juggle work life and Roosters’ life.

“I want to make sure whoever takes over has the time, enthusiasm and passion to make sure the club continues to be successful,” Politis said. “We have some good candidates on our board. We’ll sort something out.”

Uncle Nick usually does.
 

Bulldog_4_Life

Kennel Addict
Joined
Apr 18, 2014
Messages
6,065
Reaction score
4,397
I know that most of us here hate the Roosters and Uncle Nick but I have been lucky enough to have quick chat with him one time and even though it only lasted about 2 minutes it was evident that he genuinely has a love for the Roosters and would back the club to the day he dies which is something to be admired considering what our club has had to deal with other the past few years.
 

Wahesh

The Forefather of The Kennel
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
24,798
Reaction score
12,077
I know that most of us here hate the Roosters and Uncle Nick but I have been lucky enough to have quick chat with him one time and even though it only lasted about 2 minutes it was evident that he genuinely has a love for the Roosters and would back the club to the day he dies which is something to be admired considering what our club has had to deal with other the past few years.
He loves his team, but he doesn't respect the game. Cheating the salary cap and not trying to hide it... he's as cunning as they come!
 

Mr Invisible

Banned
Joined
Apr 26, 2008
Messages
0
Reaction score
47
I thought he was retiring the end of this year? I'm sure of it.

Or is he just stepping down as chairman.??

Or was it more Lurker bullshit?
 

Baby Blues

Kennel Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
4,271
Reaction score
2,780
Interesting how he is investing in the club’s future. I think our club needs to start thinking along the same lines. Poker machine revenue won’t last forever
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top