GAME CENTRE
30 October 2024
Newcastle Basketball welcomes CN motion on new ‘home’ proposal
Newcastle Basketball welcomes the City of Newcastle’s (CN) amended motion to support our State Significant Development Application (SSDA) for the proposed Hunter Indoor Sports Centre to be assessed by the NSW Government’s Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.
On Tuesday night, CN Councillors voted unanimously to support the amended motion; a show of support for not only the Basketball community of the Hunter, but for the 10,000 regular participants of indoor sports in our community.
Our SSDA includes all the detailed reports completed to assess the suitability of the current proposed site at Wallarah & Blackley Ovals, which we believe address issues raised regarding traffic and parking, stormwater and flooding, community impact and green space.
“The unanimous support of the motion at last night’s council meeting is a significant milestone about the suitability of this proposed location as it allows the work we have completed over the last 18 months to assess this site’s suitability to be considered on its merits independently,” Newcastle Basketball CEO Ian McKensey said.
“As we always have, Newcastle Basketball will continue to work with all stakeholders in our community to ensure that this much needed facility finally comes to life.
Our current facility is over 55 years old, not fit-for purpose, and will no longer be available to us after January 2028. The support of council last night is critical in making sure we’re not left with nowhere to go.”
Newcastle Basketball also welcomes new Lord Mayor Ross Kerridge’s announcement prior to last night’s meeting that he had secured a commitment from NSW Premier Chris Minns that the funding for the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre would not be removed regardless of the outcome of any approval process.
“This commitment recognises the desperate need for this facility, and the willingness of all stakeholders to achieve a great outcome for our region,” Mr McKensey said.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build an inclusive, modern sports facility that benefits the entire Hunter Region — one that supports women’s participation, disability sports, and promotes health and physical activity.”
We encourage anyone who is supportive of securing this facility for our region to show their support by providing a submission for our proposal through the NSW State Government’s SSDA portal here. A friendly user guide to the submission process has been developed as well to help and can be found by clicking here.
