The Basketball Association of Newcastle has been located in our ageing facility at Broadmeadow Stadium since the 1940s.  We have long since outgrown the site at Broadmeadow, growing from 3,600 members in 2019 to over 6,200 members in 2023, and with potential to reach 10,000 members. We are now in a position where we are turning young people away because we do not have the court capacity to enable them to play basketball.  The Broadmeadow Stadium is also the home of Newcastle Volleyball and Newcastle Pickleball, along with a broad range of other regular community activities.

The need for a new and expanded facility has long been established and supported by all stakeholders with $25m being provided by the state government in 2019. However, finding an appropriate location has proven difficult. We have explored a number of sites previously at Hillsborough and Glendale, which for various reasons were unsuitable. The proposed location for the new facility is on Crown Land at Wallarah and Blackley Ovals, New Lambton, and is adjacent to the Hunter Sports Precinct, including McDonald Jones Stadium and the Newcastle International Hockey Centre.

Newcastle Basketball has engaged experienced project planning and design specialists and have consulted with a range of key stakeholders throughout the planning process. Whilst there have been concerns raised by some local residents and groups about the site, on the whole the project has significant support given its benefits to the broader community along with an understanding that the site issues raised can be mitigated through planning, design and ongoing management. This includes the City of Newcastle providing the existing sporting users of the site with upgraded replacement facilities, a plan which is supported by the relevant sporting associations.

The realty is, that this is a great site and that there are no alternative sites on offer - the current site can not continue to be used long term due to plans related to the Broadmeadow Place Strategy; there is no site available in the Sport and Entertainment Precinct; and there is no funding to acquire land elsewhere (as a not-for-profit community organisation, we do not have the funds to purchase a site nor does government funding allow this to occur).

The proposed community facility will help to meet a massive shortfall in indoor sports facilities in the Lower Hunter and will be developed in stages as funding becomes available. Without it, the outlook for indoor sport in Newcastle and the Hunter Region is bleak. We need you to show your support for this project by signing the petition to help underpin government support and to ensure that it is delivered to benefit the whole community.