NSW Premier Chris Minns and ATC chairman Peter McGauran supported a proposal that stirred controversy among club members, leading to multiple delays in the vote on the sale since its introduction in 2023.
Today at a meeting in Randwick, the club voted to reject the $5 billion sale of the site to the NSW government.
The ATC board had planned to redevelop Warwick Farm racecourse as a replacement for Rosehill, at an estimated cost of $800 million.
ATC members also stood to receive free drinks and a five-year membership subscription.
McGauran had planned to safeguard the future of racing with a $5 billion windfall from the sale.
Of the members, 56.1 per cent voted against the sale, while 43.9 per cent voted for it.
“That means it’s finished, taken off the table, it will not proceed in any shape or form,” McGauran said.
“I personally am disappointed,” he said.
“The member’s vote is supreme, it’s binding, I respect it and the club now has to look to the future.”
Chris Minns expressed his disappointment with the outcome but affirmed that the NSW government would intensify efforts on bold initiatives to address the NSW housing crisis.
“The closeness of the result makes it more difficult ot take, not easier,” he said.
“It feels like a golden opportunity that has slipped through our fingers.
He thanked the ATC board for pursuing bold reform.
“We should be taking more risk when it comes to housing,” Minns said.
“We’ve been far too timid for far too long.
“More proposals like this are needed.”
Minns said his government were looking at alternative plans for housing projects.
The vote comes as a blow to Minns, who had backed the sale as a means of easing the NSW housing crisis.
The vote getting knocked down means the potential Metro station on the Metro West line will not be built.
Minns said there would be no metro station at Rosehill, with no houses to be developed to make it economically viable.
“We have an immediate need to increase housing supply in NSW,” State Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said.
“By focusing on a proposal that ended up being a mirage, the government has put back delivery of 10,000 homes in the Rosehill precinct by 18 months.”
Speakmen said there were problems with the financial viability of the project.
“In the meantime, we remain committed to a bipartisan reform to planning in NSW,” he said.
“The government’s housing strategy is in tatters.”
Speakman also said he was disappointed that the homes would not be built.
