This week, the Medowie Sports and Community Club got its clubhouse over the line.

“Sometimes you’ve just got to be tenacious to realise your goals,” club secretary Ben Niland said.

“And when it’s built we’ll stand by our mission statement to provide charitable capital back to the people of Medowie.”

Port Stephens Council last month approved a development application to build a multi-purpose community facility on Ferodale Road overlooking the AFL and soccer grounds to serve as a clubhouse.

This week the council agreed to build the first stage, worth $2.88 million, entirely from section 94 developer contributions. This will include a $1.77 million loan from Fern Bay contributions that Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp will challenge in parliament. 

The council also made formal a five-year lease to the club on Tuesday night. Victory was sweet for Cr Chris Doohan who acknowledged the efforts of people spanning 30 years, including the late community stalwart Ken Muir.

“We now have a lease, a design, an approved DA, and full funding to build our club,” Cr Chris Doohan wrote on Facebook moments after the approval.

“Game on Medowie. This will be out for tender in the next few days.”

The club when finished will include office space to house the Medowie RSL sub-branch, auditoriums for hire and a wheelchair accessible bowling green.

The plans also provide for a dinning room and kitchen that proponents wish to make available for natural disaster relief.

Controversially, there’s also cool room and bar facilities that critics claim will fuel social problems, if used to sell alcohol, and take business away from the Bull ‘n’ Bush.

One councillor in favour of the facility recently said patrons might be able to take their own ice chest for post-match drinks when concerns over licenced service were raised. This momentarily gave rise to the ‘club with no beer’ catch cry.

“It will be licenced but it will be restricted like a rugby club or surf club is,” club president Rod Kerr said.

"A BYO licence is one option particularly for the restaurant."

Mr Kerr said the club was about community not alcohol service.

“We’d only make 80 cents of a schooner when we could make $4 off a coffee,” he said.

A construction certificate will be required before work can physically start. Situated in the Grahamstown Dam catchment it will need approval in part from Hunter Water.

The club will begin to sell memberships in coming weeks for a ‘nominal’ fee.

“The construction timeline is really up to council but we’re hopeful we can be in late Spring, early summer 2017,” Mr Niland said.