A Multi-Purpose Sports Stadium

Written By Woden Valley Community Council

WVCC Recommendation

Review the policy for public funding and the equitable distribution of multi-purpose indoor sports stadiums across Canberra.

The Issue

The ACT’s increasing population has a severe shortage of indoor sports facilities (exacerbated by the closure of Woden’s basketball stadium and CIT) leading to teams turning players away.

The Woden Basketball stadium was demolished for a residential tower

ACT Government Policy

The ACT Government

  • does not own dedicated (or multi-purpose) indoor sport stadiums, it supports individual sports (and their dedicated stadiums) - it has been like that since self government. Yvette Berry, Minister for Sport and Recreation explains the policy at Woden’s public meeting on 4 September 2019

  • proposes the use of additional school indoor sporting infrastructure for community use outside of school hours.

    • The WVCC supports the use of schools but a multi-purpose sports stadium is also necessary

    • a stadium brings people together and creates a ‘vibe’ encouraging participation, schools scatter the activity and people usually drive (or are driven) to training and then leave

    • organising access to multiple schools is exhausting and school halls are often not available due to their own needs for the hall.

There are discussions about a new Convention Centre, a new stadium at UC, upgrading the AIS and expanding the Belconnen Basketball Stadium.

The WVCC is concerned that the ACT Government’s policy could entrench facilities in the north of Canberra.

Recent advocacy

The WVCC undertook a petition (sponsored by Minister Davidson) that requested the Assembly to call on the Government to:

  • build and own a multi-purpose indoor sports stadium in the Woden Town Centre that can be hired at a reasonable cost by local community sports groups

The petition received 1,965 signatures and on 30 November 2021 the Legislative Assembly referred it to the Standing Committee on Planning, Transport, and City Services for consideration.

  • On 13 January 2022 the WVCC wrote to the above standing committee seeking an Inquiry into Woden’s recreation precinct and facilities

  • On 8 February 2022, Ms Yvette Berry, Minister for Sport and Recreation responded to the petition advising that:

    • the ACT Government is progressing a number of ACT Government school projects in Woden Valley in the coming years, which will see additional indoor sporting infrastructure made available for community use outside of school hours.

    • The ACT Government does not own dedicated indoor sport court facilities, however there are dedicated indoor facilities under private ownership in the ACT. Alongside the school initiatives, the private sector will continue to play an important role in providing indoor sport court facilities across the ACT.

Previous advocacy

In May 2019, we wrote the Chief Minister about the implementation of the Woden Town Centre Master Plan and the loss of recreational facilities.

In February 2019, the WVCC released a proposal for a multi-purpose sports facility in the Town Centre.

In December 2018, we wrote to Minister Berry to express our serious concerns about the evidence base, assumptions, findings and consultation process for the September 2018 Optium Report about Planning for Indoor Facilities and Other Sport and Recreation Infrastructure.

  • The Report found that Woden has a comparatively moderate population (34,475), low projected growth (+1,528 by 2036), and a significantly higher median age than the ACT as a whole.

  • Given budget limitations, developing shared use indoor facilities in schools would offer a more effective solution in Gungahlin and Woden.

In December 2015 the ACT Government released the ACT Indoor Sports Facilities Study which concluded

Current demand is driven by a shortfall of available facilities to support competition and lack of access to courts for training. In addition there is the pending loss of 3 courts in the Woden Basketball Stadium and the 1 court at CIT Woden which, if the Woden Town Centre is to be a focus for higher density living, is an issue for creating a contemporary urban precinct supported by a range of sport and leisure facilities.

Some Media

Riotact

CityNews

Background Information

Basketball ACT (BACT) facilities:

  • 1977 - first premises under a 15 year lease at the Canberra Showground.

  • 1985 - BACT built a 2 courts centre at Woden, designed as a 6 court basketball HQ, this objective was not realised as the facility was subsequently sold (1990) to the CSCC which added a third court and leased it back for 15 years. Funds from the sale funded the Belconnen facility.

  • 1991 - construction of Belconnen (4 courts) replacing the showground facility.

  • 2000 - competitions were transitioned from Woden to Tuggeranong and Woden became a CSCC managed multi user amenity. It continued to be used by basketball clubs for training.

  • The Southern Cross Club sold the site to Amalgamated Group who demolished the Woden stadium for development.

In April 2021, the Legislative Assembly supported a Greens motion to develop a long-term strategic plan for sport and recreation in the ACT. This report was due at the end of 2021.

Conclusion

We acknowledge that each sporting code does not have the resources to invest in a dedicated indoor facility in Canberra’s south.

There are competing interests for indoor sports facilities in Canberra, with the University of Canberra planning for a large indoor sports stadium in Belconnen, Basketball ACT proposing to expand its Belconnen facility, the Greens committed to a multi-purpose indoor sports centre in Woden, discussions around upgrading the AIS and building a Convention Centre in the City.

While the WVCC supports planning for recreation facilities, we are seeking a government owned multi-purpose facility in the Woden Town Centre that could be shared, and managed by one sporting group, eg Basketball ACT.

Woden Valley Community Council
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