PETITION

Build the Coburg High School Indoor Sports Stadium

To the Victorian State Government and all candidates contesting the 2026 Victorian State Election.

Endorsed by the Coburg Basketball Association Inc and the Coburg High School Council.

We, the undersigned supporters of the Coburg Basketball Association, the students, families and staff of Coburg High School, and the wider Merri-bek community, call for a minimum $10 million pre-election commitment to plan and build a new four court, competition grade indoor stadium at Coburg High School.

Coburg High School’s endorsed masterplan identified the facility, which is now the school’s number one funding priority. In July 2022 Merri-bek City Council committed $3 million toward delivery, conditional on State support. The 2025 Coburg North Sports Hub Master Plan found that the Coburg Basketball Stadium cannot accommodate the sport’s expansion and prioritised a new multi-court indoor facility for Merri-bek, and the Feasibility Project that followed assessed hundreds of sites to identify Coburg High School as the most suitable location. It is the only project listed for Victoria’s Northern Metropolitan Region in Basketball Victoria’s Facilities and Infrastructure Priorities (2026). The Coburg High School Council, the Coburg Basketball Association, Basketball Victoria and Merri-bek City Council all back it.

Basketball in Merri-bek has outgrown its facilities.

Basketball is the number one growth sport in Merri-bek, and the Coburg Basketball Stadium, built more than 30 years ago, has been outgrown;

•       More than 5,000 people play every week across all ages, genders and abilities, in over 520 domestic teams, 37 junior representative teams and four senior VBL teams, supported by 350 registered coaches and more than 130 technical officials. Inclusive programs including Walking Basketball and all abilities competitions are growing alongside them.

•       Merri-bek has only seven indoor courts across four locations. None of the four courts at Coburg Basketball Stadium comply with contemporary sporting regulations, and the site cannot expand.

•       Unmet demand has pushed the Association out across 22 courts at 18 venues in Merri-bek, Darebin and Hume.

This demand is not going to ease, and every year without a decision is another year of players on waiting lists and families travelling outside Merri-bek for training and games.

Coburg High School needs further facilities for its growth.

Coburg High School is the largest Year 7-12 school in Merri-bek and runs its entire PE program out of a single court gym. The State is already obliged to build a new gym as part of the Coburg High School Masterplan, and a $10 million commitment alongside Council’s commitment turns that obligation into a four court community facility;

•       The school regularly runs up to five Physical Education classes at once in a space built for one, which becomes untenable when weather stops outdoor activity.

•       The Victorian School Building Authority’s 2018 Facility Area Schedule includes an entitlement to a double court stadium above 1,325 students, and the school’s endorsed masterplan projects 1,475. The VSBA’s 2025 design guidelines direct that new gymnasiums be competition grade and built with scope to double for council joint use.

•       The school will share the facility at no cost with local government schools Coburg Primary, Merri-bek Primary and Coburg Special Developmental School, none of which have a dedicated gymnasium. The proposed facility will also become a base for primary and secondary interschool sport.

A stadium is Stage 2 of the school’s endorsed masterplan, and building it unlocks Stage 3, converting the existing gym into a performing arts theatre.

Before the 2026 State Election, we call on the Victorian Government and every state candidate to pledge a minimum $10 million toward a four court, competition grade stadium at Coburg High School, and to fund concept planning now so the project is ready to build.