Lake Macquarie City Council voted on Monday night to clear the way for a new indoor stadium at Hillsborough to house Newcastle Basketball.
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Councillors agreed unanimously to enter into an agreement with the city’s basketball association to set aside 6.7 hectares of council-owned land next to the Newcastle inner-city bypass.
They also voted to investigate funding opportunities to help Newcastle Basketball build a new home.
The agreement will allow Newcastle Basketball to seek state government funding to move from its ageing Broadmeadow base with the assurance it has a new site available.
“It’s only another step in what has been a long process, but it’s certainly a significant one,” Newcastle Basketball general manager Neil Goffet said after the council meeting.
“We are very appreciative of all the work done to this point by the staff at Lake Macquarie City Council, and we are extremely encouraged by the response from the councillors tonight.
“We now have a clearer path for what we are trying to achieve, which is providing a community facility to keep pace with the surge in the sport of basketball, other sports and cultural events.
“Any facility is only possible with the support of the state government and we will continue to work with them for the best outcome for all involved.”
Cr Kevin Baker (Lib) said attracting a “world-class” basketball centre would be a “coup” for Lake Macquarie.
Cr John Gilbert waved a red flag at Newcastle council with an enthusiastic endorsement of the project.
“It’s the old Lake Macquarie versus Newcastle thing,” he told the meeting.
“We’ve got the opportunity to bring this over to our turf.”
Cr Gilbert described the agreement as a “shot across the bow” of Newcastle and the council’s vote to pursue funding for the project as the “torpedo up the stern”.
But Labor’s Cr Brian Adamthwaite and mayor Kay Fraser struck a more conciliatory tone, saying the region’s councils should work together to secure the best sports facilities.
Newcastle Basketball approached the council in February about establishing a new 10-court stadium with seating for 4000 spectators. The association’s board formally advised the council in April that it wanted to pursue a move to Hillsborough, and the council announced the project last week.
The move angered Newcastle lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes, who said Lake Macquarie should not develop sports centres at the expense of neighbouring council areas.
She reiterated those views on Monday before the Lake Macquarie vote.
“Newcastle Basketball should be working closely with Venues NSW as part of the Broadmeadow Sports and Entertainment Precinct to grow the sport’s presence in both Newcastle and Lake Macquarie,” she said.
“Removing sporting infrastructure from Newcastle, the economic and sporting capital of the Hunter, without any consultation makes no sense at all.”
If it proceeds, the new Hillsborough centre would replace a proposed new stadium and courts at Broadmeadow, a project which has stalled since Newcastle Basketball secured a $5 million grant two years ago.
Newcastle Basketball applied unsuccessfully this year for a $22 million Regional Sports Infrastructure Fund grant for a centre at Hillsborough.
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