BY MADELAINE MCNEILL
Newcastle Basketball will look to keep the pressure on the state government to deliver on its recent promise for a $25 million dollar stadium at Lake Macquarie.
The Coalition made the commitment just nine days prior to the state election, promising a 4000 seat multi-sport indoor facility for Hillsborough to be built on land contributed by Lake Macquarie City Council.
General Manager Neil Goffet said they've outgrown the current facility at Broadmeadow Stadium which was built in 1969 and holds just over 2000 spectators.
"It's 50 years old, it's falling down around us, so to get something like this would not only be a boost for current members but for thousands of new members I'm sure would come along," said Mr Goffet.
Newcastle Basketball has welcomed the Coalition's promise but at this point, says Neil Goffet, that's all it is.
"So we'll need to pursue that through the right channels and hopefully we can get it slated for the budget in June and get that happening in the next 12 months," said Mr Goffet.
"It'd be the greatest investment in basketball in the 70-odd years that our association has been running."
Neil Goffet said the government is well aware of the urgency needed to move on from the deteriorating Broadmeadow Stadium but he's aware the party has plenty of promises to keep across the state.
"We're just one of them but we'll try and get ourselves to the front of the queue," he said.
"They're well aware of the urgency regarding the dilapidated state this place is in and we understand the need to get this moving as fast as possible, so we'll certainly continue our conversations with them."
Having secured his seat at the state election, Lake Macquarie Independent MP Greg Piper is expected to continue pushing for the stadium's development, which he has advocated for consistently.
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| Former Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald, Newcastle Basketball Life Member and Olympian Terry Charlton, Neil Goffet, Greg Piper and Basketball Australia Deputy Chair David Reid at the Coalition's funding commitment earlier this month. Image: Newcastle Basketball |
