In a bid to attract support beyond its traditional base in the Greek community, the club adopted a new name in the mid-1990s – the West Adelaide Sharks. However, the new moniker largely failed to grow the club's membership and a series of unfortunate incidents pushed the club towards a permanent exit from the national league. On 9 June 1998 fire destroyed the Sharks' change rooms and some administrative offices at their new Thebarton Oval base. The damage bill was expected to reach $150,000.