The Bellarine Peninsula is facing a critical shortage of indoor courts, with basketball participation doubling in the past three years. As quoted in our Business Case, “There is a desperate need to access new indoor courts to meet local competition growth and aspirations for BPBA to grow their high performance pathway programs.”

The current three-court facility at Bellarine Secondary College is at capacity and unable to support the Association’s rapidly growing domestic, representative, and elite pathway programs. BPBA now relies on 13 courts across 10 venues, with “5 of the 13 courts… located outside of the catchment area.”

Why expansion is essential

• Our priority focus – youth involvement in sport impacts many areas – health and wellbeing, mental and emotional growth and social and community engagement.
• Participation has exploded from 1,809 players to 3,238 in just four years.
• Teams have increased 54%, forcing BPBA to cap representative programs and limit development opportunities. A significant number of domestic teams have regular byes.
• City of Greater Geelong identifies the Bellarine Peninsula as a priority area for new courts.
• Basketball Victoria has named the Drysdale expansion as one of its top six high-priority facility projects in the state.
• The expanded venue would deliver six courts and a 1,500 seat show court, enabling major events such as Junior Nationals, Victorian Country Championships, and even NBL/WNBL games — bringing tourism and economic growth to the area.

Community & Economic Benefits

The Business Case estimates the project will create 120 jobs and generate $20 million in annual regional benefits over the first decade. 

What’s proposed 

Two options (our proposed expansion is supported by the City or Greater Geelong, Bellarine Secondary College and the Victorian School Building Authority).

• 2 court expansion, or
• 3 court expansion (preferred), seamlessly integrating with the existing facility while including new amenities, café, function room, and major seating upgrades.

The ask

We respectfully call on the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments to fund and deliver the Bellarine Sports Centre expansion — a project strongly supported by all key stakeholders and urgently needed to meet community demand.

The Bellarine Peninsula deserves a modern, compliant, accessible facility that supports our youth, strengthens community sport, and unlocks major event opportunities.