All-star team: Victorian Tourism, Sport and Major Events Minister Steve Dimopoulos with basketball legend Lauren Jackson and Premier Jacinta Allan at the State Basketball Centre opening.
The Victorian Government has unveiled the State Basketball Centre, a project into which it invested $105 million, sparking hopes of potential upgrades to the Shepparton Sports Stadium.
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Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan and Tourism, Sport and Major Events Minister Steve Dimopoulos visited the stadium in Wantirna South, Melbourne, to officially open the new-build extension on Tuesday, January 16.
This blockbuster centre will roll out a jam-packed program of basketball games at all levels — from NBL and WNBL training and matches to grassroots local basketball competitions.
Courts on courts: The State Basketball Centre has 18 courts, compared to Shepparton’s four, which are all more than 30 years old.
With 12 new indoor community courts for local competitions, there are now 18 indoor courts at the centre, more than four times the number at the Shepparton Sports Stadium.
It also features a dedicated high-performance training and administration facility for teams, including NBL team South-East Melbourne Phoenix and the WNBL’s Southside Flyers.
Local sports organisations and clubs will also use these facilities to ensure more grassroots teams have the best facilities and infrastructure to support basketball’s growth in Victoria for generations to come.
The project was delivered with a $105 million investment from the government.
Premier facility: The Victorian Government has unveiled the $132 million State Basketball Centre upgrade.
Knox City Council provided an additional $27 million in funding for the $132 million project.
More than 500 jobs were created during construction, with more than 100 ongoing jobs supporting the centre’s operations.
More works have started at the stadium — upgrading the original six basketball courts and surrounding admin and function spaces — and are due for completion by mid-2024.
“We invest in projects like this because they create Victorian jobs, they support fans and local communities, and they give talented young people a better shot at success,” Ms Allan said.
Jobs and Industry Minister Natalie Hutchins said hundreds of jobs were created through the investment, with 90 per cent of the construction material coming from Victoria and 10 per cent of work hours completed by Victorian apprentices, trainees and cadets.
Victoria is already Australia’s home of basketball, with participation numbers across the state equal to every other state combined.
Since 2010, basketball participation in Victoria has grown by more than four per cent annually.
Shepparton’s basketball community is growing by that rate and then some.
Basketball Victoria general manager David Huxtable said Shepparton’s basketball participation level was comparable with towns and cities with much more developed facilities, such as Bendigo and Ballarat.
City of Greater Shepparton City Mayor Shane Sali said he was encouraged by investment in the State Basketball Centre and what it might mean for the future of the Shepparton Sports Stadium.
“It’s great to see that the state government values basketball and that they support the growth of basketball, and we look forward to continuing our conversations with them to try and get an investment into our basketball stadium,” Cr Sali said.
A few more seats: The interior of Bendigo’s Red Energy Arena compared to the Shepparton Sports Stadium.
“I know our premier is a massive fan of basketball, and that allows us to advocate to her not only through the relevant ministers but to her directly, and that’s why I’m really hopeful that throughout the year we can seek a commitment for investment into Greater Shepparton’s basketball stadium.”
Ms Allan, who is also the Member for Bendigo East, successfully advocated for major upgrades to the Bendigo Stadium, renamed Red Energy Arena, in 2022 following a significant redevelopment in 2018.
The government announced in December last year that Red Energy Arena would host Australia’s national men’s basketball team, the Boomers, on February 22.
