QUEANBEYAN Basketball president Jan Browne says the club will continue to advocate for a new multi-court facility in the wake of the South Tralee development gaining NSW Government approval.
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Queanbeyan Basketball has been one of a number of local sporting groups vocal in their support of the Tralee development in the hope it will prove the catalyst for a major new regional sports precinct.
With Tralee given the green light, Browne said she would be putting the club’s case to Queanbeyan City Council for a new, multi-purpose indoor sports facility to be built at the proposed Poplars site.
“Our voice seems to be in the background a lot but now [Tralee] has come to the forefront, we think this is a positive step forward and we need to be on the front foot,” she said.
“Council has minuted previously that basketball was to be one of the next sports targeted for an indoor sports facility after we missed out with the indoor sports centre on Yass Road.”
Queanbeyan Basketball is currently based out of the old YMCA Stadium in Karabar but Browne said the building – which contains just one full-sized court – was no longer adequate to meet the club’s needs.
“At the moment we can’t accommodate demand with our present facilities,” she said. “Our representative teams can’t get time on court for training and we’ve got senior competition games being played on a three-quarter court.
“It’s not just basketball. Other sports are crying out for space and I have to knock back people on a weekly basis who are looking to make bookings because we don’t have to room to cater for them.”
Browne said Queanbeyan Basketball had previously explored a number of other options including developing a new facility at the Queanbeyan Showgrounds or renovating and enlarging its existing stadium.
But she said Tralee loomed as the best possible solution for a club that has already far outgrown its present surrounds.
“Tralee being approved means there is now a chance for us to have a home which is something we’ve been trying for since our inception 35 years ago,” she said. “Every avenue we’ve explored, every proposal we’ve put forward, none have ever come to fruition so I can only hope [Tralee] is the answer.”
