By Ewen McRae
Basketball facilities across the region are being stretched to breaking point.
While a new six-court stadium at Cobblebank is slated to be built shortly, registrations across Melton are growing at such a rate the local association says it will soon outgrow the new stadium.
Melton Basketball Association president Daniel Brady said the new stadium would be welcome, but an upgrade could be needed soon after it is finished.
“We desperately need these six courts, but basically by the time you build six we’ll need eight, by the time you build eight we’ll need 10,” Mr Brady said.
“We’re very thankful to the council for getting us this stadium, but we’ve got a new club coming in with more teams so the need is always growing.
“Quality courts are what we need. When we use the rec centre and there’s a downpour the roof leaks, so that’s a bit of a drama, and we’re renting at a couple of schools, so we go wherever we can to get kids on courts.
“This new stadium will help bring us into the 21st century, but we will still have to use the rec centre and other courts in order to meet demand.”
The next stage of the Cobblebank stadium has been funded in the recent draft council budget.
Councillor Sophie Ramsey raised the courts issue at the recent council meeting and was told by council officers the Cobblebank site could not accommodate more than six courts.
The Melton Basketball Association currently has 1500 registrations, with most of those from junior players.
Mr Brady said they have had to restrict certain programs due to a facility strain.
“We’re already capped at what we can do growth-wise,” he said.
“Our Aussie Hoops program, which is the same as Auskick, is booked through the roof, we’ve already added an extra night for that. There’s exponential growth in basketball across Melton.
“If this is a two-year build for a new facility, we could be petitioning governments straight away to get more upgrades to help us out.”
