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The Hampden Bowling Club has “had to face reality” due to dwindling membership as it shuts its doors after more than a century.
The club building is up for sale after no community groups came forward to take over the lease.
Over the last 18 months the club was down to just six members, having lost both its secretary and greenkeeper.
Club president Kerry Stevens said it was “sad times for our club”, which was founded in 1920.
“We’ve had to face reality.
“Nearly all of our active members have moved on . . . we just don’t have enough to sustain the club any more.”
It would be a loss for the small town, he said.
“Bowls is a very social game.
“When you’re not actually physically bowling the ball you’re standing around talking to people.
“It has been, I think, an important social hub for the community.”
The land is owned by Waitaki District Council which has asked the club to sell the building separately and remove it from the site.
Mr Stevens said the club would have preferred to get a community group to take over the lease and “carry on using it as a community facility but with a different purpose”.
“That was our first preference but simply no community groups have come forward.”
The club are taking expressions of interest for the building until the end of September.
The closure brings an end to a storied and decorated history at the club.
Bowling club members won the Mills Shield, the symbol of supremacy for lawn bowls in North Otago, a decade ago.
The club also won the shield eight times between 1940 and 1996.
The building had been “well maintained”, was in “good condition” and sat on wooden piles meaning it should be possible to relocate, a social media post read.
The building had not been assessed and was sold “as is” meaning the risk of relocation rested with potential buyers, who were encouraged to do their own assessments and due diligence.