On 19 August, 1999, the Manly club decided to take some games to the Central Coast for the 2000 NRL season. This move was particularly upsetting to Bears fans, because had it not been for bad weather, the new Central Coast stadium would have been their new home base for the 1999 season. As it turned out, both clubs would merge and play out of the new stadium as a single entity for the 2000-02 seasons.