Hunter Indoor Sports Centre (HISC)

The current basketball stadium is dilapidated and literally falling down around the players. The basketball community deserve a new facility as it is a growing sport and people are being turned away from playing due to a lack of facilities.
I have two sons that have been playing basketball for 8 years and have and I am firm believer of keeping kids in sport is beneficial for their growth and development and without the correct facilities basketball will not be able to continue in Newcastle as the current facilities are becoming unusable.

I support this proposal as I feel that the Newcastle area is in desperate need of appropriate facilities to cater for the demand and growth of basketball playing public in the region.

I am requesting additional hours of court time for Hunter volleyball. The club has grown substantially in the past few years and we now have leagues for all ages of life, providing a sustainable future for the club and reaching a broad range of users. We are currently unable to fulfil the need to the community as we are severely limited by court time availability. The more time we are provided, the more community members that we can support to be active, social and enjoying the new sporting arena that was built for them. Please consider this clubs scope to reach a greater audience and provide opportunities for everyone to come in and enjoy the facilities. Thank you for your consideration. Much appreciated by all our members current and future generations.

Our existing facility is no where near big enough for our growing sport in this area.

We need this stadium as soon as possible

This facility is overdue and very needed. The current stadium is old, dangerous for users and we need a facility that can be used all year round. It will be a great community asset that will also generate tourism dollars for Newcastle.

I object the proposed re-location and construction of the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre as detailed in SSD-65595459.
Reasons are as follows
- restricts future expansion of Lambton High School to accommodate the potential influx of students from re-zoning, population increase in Broadmeadow and shift in local community towards families with school age children.
- the proposed site is the current location of many organised and casual field sports, including the sports ground for students at Lambton High School and few alternatives are available locoally
- replacement of a water absorbing grass field with an impervious concrete structure shifts and amplifies the risk of flooding to neighbouring residential, commercial and public high school dwellings.
- extra traffic on top of an already exhausted street parking situation with local McDonald Stadium, International Hockey Stadium, local sport and community has not been adequately accounted for. Already cars are parked across driveways, on median strips, etc and this will be exacerbated with the stadium.
- the green corridor along Lambton Ker-rai Creek offers a connective cycle way and walking path that creates equitable access to people on foot (walking and running), cycling, people using wheelchairs and modified cycles and prams. The development of a major basketball stadium would destroy approximately 25% of the corridor.
- sports precinct is already bordered by Griffiths Rd, Turton Rd and Lambton Rd, and this is the precinct that should also accommodate the stadium re-build in situ or redesign the infrastructure on corner of Turton and Griffiths Road. For example, the Go-Karts could be moved to the centre of the Harness Racing track. This area is already well supported by medical centre, existing transport options and carparks established.
- an alternate site is the space between Kings Road and the trainline.
- justification for a new building to minimise impact on sport during a re-build is NOT a valid reason to utilise much needed green space in the region.
- if the sports precinct cannot fit an indoor stadium, then suggest relocate to an outer suburb of Newcastle such as Shortland or Wallsend to create equitable access to sport and inject funds into outer communities (rather than people a having to travel into New Lambton for every sport).
- visually, it is important to have long distance, green spaces to enjoy, especially in dense residential zones, that will amplify with the proposed future development of Broadmeadow.
- pedestrian pathways to school will be compromised for local school students
- local real estate prices will plummet with the shift from beautiful green spaces to busy, noisy, buildings and extra traffic
- it is very lazy and unimaginable to pick a big 'empty' space to plonk a stadium, it is very disappointing that this proposal has even made it to the development stage
I implore the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure to object the Development Application in its totality

I support the construction of a new sporting facility in Newcastle known as Hunter Indoor Sports Centre (HISC) as an important investment in the wellbeing of our community and the future of our region. Sporting facilities are hubs of physical activity, social interaction, and lifelong learning. They offer a space for all ages to come together, to move, to play, and to grow. The positive impacts such a facility can have on child development are profound and far-reaching particularly as the facility will cater for a range of sports including basketball, volleyball, badminton, netball, futsal, and pickleball.

In addition to wellbeing, health and social benefits, a sporting facility such as the HISC would have the capacity to host a range of regional, state and national sporting events bringing economic benefits to the region.

This submission outlines six significant reasons why establishing a new sporting facility would be of immense benefit to the Hunter region and its constituents.

1. Promoting Physical Health and Wellbeing
A new sporting facility provides a safe, accessible environment for children and adults to engage in regular physical activity. In an age where sedentary lifestyles and screen-based recreation are on the rise, the presence of a dedicated sports centre is crucial. Three positive benefits include:
1. Combatting childhood obesity and lifestyle diseases: facilities that support a range of sports and fitness activities encourage children to stay active, helping to prevent obesity, diabetes, and other lifestyle-related illnesses. Early engagement in physical activity is widely recognised to set the foundation for healthy habits that last a lifetime.
2. Supporting mental health: exercise is a proven antidote to anxiety, depression, and stress. By providing an outlet for energetic play and structured activity, a sporting facility supports the mental wellbeing of children and adults, offering relief from academic, social, and work-related pressures.
3. Encouraging inclusivity: modern sporting facilities are designed to be accessible to all, regardless of age or physical ability. This inclusiveness ensures that everyone in the community have the opportunity to experience the benefits of sport.

2. Fostering Social Cohesion and Community Spirit
Sporting facilities are natural gathering places that nurture community spirit and strengthen social bonds. They offer a venue for events, competitions, and shared experiences that bring people together. Such benefits include:
1. Building friendships and networks: team sports and group activities are proven to increase bonds of friendships and belonging. These relationships often extend beyond the field, fostering a sense of belonging and connectedness crucial to social development.
2. Encouraging volunteers and leadership: sporting clubs and events rely on volunteers and provide opportunities for leadership and mentorship. Young people can learn valuable skills by coaching, umpiring, or helping to organise events. Of course, social bonds formed in the act of service can happen at any age, and as many parents and volunteers who’ve come together to run clubs and associations can attest to.
3. Cross-cultural understanding: a central facility welcomes people from all backgrounds, promoting inclusion and mutual respect. Shared sporting experiences can break down barriers and create unity in diversity.

3. Enhancing Child Development
Engagement in sport and physical activity is essential to the healthy development of children, not just physically, but cognitively, emotionally, and socially. Four such benefits include:
1. Motor skills and coordination: regular physical activity improves balance, agility, and coordination. Children who participate in sports develop better fine and gross motor skills, which can benefit them in other areas of life.
2. Cognitive development: physical activity has been linked to improved concentration, memory, and academic performance. The discipline learned on the sports field often translates to the classroom, fostering persistence and resilience.
3. Emotional intelligence: team sports require communication, empathy, and emotional regulation. Children learn to win and lose gracefully, to support teammates, and to handle the stress of competition.
4. Creative play: sporting facilities often provide space for unstructured play as well as organised sport. This encourages creativity, risk-taking, and independent problem-solving.

4. Economic and Environmental Benefits
The benefits of a new sporting facility extend beyond health and social cohesion, they can also impact the local economy and environment in positive ways.
1. Boosting the economy: sporting events attract visitors, leading to increased patronage of local businesses such as cafes, shops, services, and accommodation providers. A sporting facility such as the HISC would have the capacity to host a range of regional, state and national sporting events across a range of different sports bringing economic benefits to the region. Employment opportunities are created in construction, facility management, coaching, and support services.
2. Enhancing property values: the presence of quality recreational infrastructure is a drawcard for families seeking to settle in the area, which can have a positive impact on property values and community growth.

5. Lifelong Learning and Healthy Habits
A sporting facility is more than just a place to play sport, it can also be a classroom for life. The lessons learned on and off the field lay the groundwork for healthy, productive futures by:
1. Developing discipline and work ethic: sport teaches the value of hard work, persistence and goal setting. These qualities are central not only to athletic achievement but to success in all areas of life.
2. Encouraging lifelong fitness: children who enjoy positive early experiences with sport are more likely to remain active as adults, reducing the risk of chronic disease and enhancing quality of life.
3. Providing positive role models: coaches, older athletes, and sports administrators serve as mentors, inspiring children to strive for their best and make healthy choices.

6. Meeting the Needs of a Growing Community
In the Hunter region, the need for accessible, quality sporting infrastructure grows ever more urgent. This is particularly evident in basketball where the number of children wanting to play the sport far outweigh the facilities that can meet that need. The new HISC can:
1. Address these shortages: many communities and sports in the area face a lack of suitable venues for sport to play and train. A new facility will help meet this growing need, allowing more children and families to participate.
2. Future-proofing our region: investing in sport today ensures that we have the capacity to meet the needs of tomorrow’s residents, helping to keep our community active, healthy, and connected for generations to come.

This is necessary to support healthy and active lifestyles in our community.

Perfect spot! The stadium will get far more use than those fields do.

HISC is a positive and essential development securing Hunter Volleyball’s requirements for indoor courts, meeting current demand and forecast expansion of community engagement activities, junior development programs, junior and senior social competitions, Junior & Premier League competitions, and representative programs.

It will facilitate delivery of new school, community, and championship tournaments, and enable accessible disciplines (sitting and walking volleyball), new divisions including U10s and Masters, and provide a permanent home for regional volleyballers for generations to come.

I have worked in sporting communities throughout NSW for over 30 years and enjoyed the numerous major multisport facilities in neighbouring regions (which are destinations for major indoor sporting events and their communities). I cannot wait to see this development realised and contribute to the building of a legacy for our sport in Newcastle and the Hunter. This development is long overdue to replace the existing facility, and will create access for a dynamic, non-contact, inclusive sport, contributing to the reputation and representation of this proud sporting region at State and National level.

Traffic during peak hour,sportingevents, namely footfall,NRL,Hockey,Concerts soccer.
Traffic is already a nightmare around the area,residents cannot access their driveways when any major event is on.
Also playing field already being utilized for Jnr soccer and cricket.
I Strongly Obect.

Wrong location due to need for current public space to stay would be overcrowded.
Increase in traffic in peak hour, sporting events. It is unfair for local residence to have that huge facility right there.
Congestion in residental area.

Will cause parking issues and already a flood area.

The development is needed for the benefit of thousands of young basketball participants who come from all over the Hunter. There are no available options, and development refusal will kill the sport. The Hunter kids need this. Proper engineering assessment will confirm adequate addressing of flooding, traffic and parking.

The Hunter Indoor Sports Centre (HISC) is set to replace the aging Newcastle Basketball Centre, securing the long-term future of indoor sport in our region. More than a sporting facility, this project is a catalyst for urban renewal and a cornerstone of the Broadmeadow Place Strategy—unlocking opportunities for essential new housing and vibrant community development.

HISC will cater to a wide range of sports, including basketball, volleyball, badminton, netball, futsal, and pickleball. Designed with full accessibility and inclusivity at its core, the centre will provide opportunities for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds to stay active, connect socially, and thrive in a welcoming community environment.

This project is needed for the kids and community of greater Newcastle and I urge as many people to get behind it. Newcastle deserves this facility, in this location!

This is the wrong place for this development!!
Local parks and can never be replaced and this takes away, as why New Lambton is a desirable suburb.

As for the development, I do support it is needed.

There is 313 hectares of land, just across the road, which is being developed as a sporting precinct.
This development should be included in that.

Personally, I am absolutely disgusted that taking our parks away from the local community/schools and sporting clubs is even being considered.

Please listen to your local community and put the Indoor Sports Centre in the Sporting Precinct.

Josh

I am a previous student of Lambton High School and would like to add my say to this proposal. I firmly believe this project has more negatives than it does positives.
Lets start with the positives; I agree that the basketball association should have a new stadium to be able to hold tournaments and games in a new and improved stadium. However that's all the positives for this project I can really see.

Now for the negatives; This project will severely affect the children of Lambton High School. This project takes all green space the school has access to which means kids can't go outside to stretch their legs, play some soccer or footy with their mates, and make meaningful connections with friends which is what I enjoyed most about school.
This project would force kids to remain inside school gates during breaks which is going to lead to more kids congregating in one area.
Basketball associations response of being able to use Arthur Edden oval instead is clearly irrelevant as Arthur Edden Oval is a locked field so there is no access to this field. If kids want to go Kentish or Ford Oval this then requires excursion notes, permission slips, and minimum of 2 teachers to supervise the children. This is a severe misjudgement on Basketball associations behalf.
Another negative of this project is the parking and the flood risk that comes along with it. The proposed project is allocating approx 200-250 parking spots with surrounding streets being the overflow parking spaces. This is a severely careless proposal. with a proposed capacity of up to 2500 people this leaves parking spaces to carry approx 10 people per car. Lets the car park is full and the over flow parking is used. to bring this average of 10 people per car down to 5 people per car there has to be space in the neighbouring streets for approx another 250 cars. This is totally unfeasible.
The flood risk for this area is tremendously high and with a stadium being built this now removes the drainage within the existing oval and pushes into the neighbouring storm water drains which already struggle with the rainfall as it is.
My final major concern comes down to the noise pollution during the building process. During my HSC exams I was thrown off my concentration when the school bell would ring. I can't even begin to imagine how hard this would be if there was power tools, truck sirens, and other common construction noises. This is going to severely affect children's ability to have a safe and secure space to study and learn. The proposed building will be just 6m from the LHS boundary. This in turn is going to lead more noise distracting the students, but also more danger with a work site being just metres from a school full of children.

As you can see this project has a lot of negative side affects. I whole heartedly agree with the basketball association in regards for the need of a new stadium however I would not be able to sleep at night if I didn't allow my thoughts to be expressed at the sheer stupidity of this location.

In conclusion, I appreciate the ability to be able to voice my concerns. I seriously urge the people supporting this project to rethink the proposal.

Kind Regards,
Taj - former student of Lambton High School

Dear NSW Department of Planning

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the amended proposal for the Hunter Basketball Stadium and outdoor courts on Wallarah and Blackley Ovals.

Unfortunately, it appears that none of the genuine concerns raised by the community in response to the original design have been meaningfully addressed. In fact, the revised proposal may present even greater issues than the original draft.

Loss of Public Green Space

The original design already offered minimal accessible green space for the public and school children. The revised plan now appears to reduce this even further. The only remaining open area is a narrow strip of land or ‘swale’ at the complex’s entrance.

If this area is sloped, water will run directly into the stormwater system. If not, it will pool, potentially for days, creating an ideal environment for mosquitoes and pests. Either outcome makes it unsuitable as usable green space.

Inadequate Traffic and Parking Management

It is troubling that the amended report deems it acceptable for overflow traffic from the stadium to regularly congest nearby residential streets — day and night, potentially until 10 or 11 PM throughout the year.

Local roads, especially Turton Road — already a heavily used arterial route — will not be able to handle this increased traffic. Even with the revised increase to 240 on-site car spaces, this is woefully inadequate. The proposed boom gate at the entrance is also likely to exacerbate congestion, potentially causing gridlock. During major events at McDonald Jones Stadium, nearby roads (Young and Monash) are partially closed to manage traffic. Applying similar disruption daily is impractical and unfair to Newcastle residents.

Unresolved Flooding Risks

The suggestion that the flooding impact is “minimal” is misleading. The revised flood study still fails to properly assess risks — notably, the earlier study did not even include Wallarah or Blackley Ovals. Within the past year, stormwater drains along Monash Road have overflowed, spilling onto the street and endangering nearby homes and residents.

The installation of flood retention basins seems insufficient when considering the combined runoff from the stadium roof and outdoor courts. This excess water will inevitably be channeled into the already stressed drain system, heightening the flood risk and posing a safety hazard for nearby families and pets.

Environmental, Social & Economic Concerns

The report’s claim that there will be “no adverse environmental, social, or economic impact” lacks credibility and evidence.
• Environmentally, the development removes valuable green space that is freely used by residents. This land not only acts as a flood buffer but is also a vital habitat for native wildlife, including flocks of birds observed throughout the year.
• Socially, the ovals currently support numerous sporting codes and teams across all age groups. Suggested alternative venues — such as McDonald Jones Stadium, the hockey fields, and bowling clubs — are not suitable replacements. These venues cannot accommodate all sports, nor are they freely accessible to the same extent. Lambton High School students also use the ovals daily for recreation, and this space is integral to their wellbeing.
• Economically, the cost of the facility is now projected to exceed $80 million — nearly $50 million above the initial budget. Will taxpayers be formally notified of this blowout? Additionally, any increase in local flood risk could drive up home insurance premiums for surrounding residents, further burdening the community.

Suitability of the Location

Ultimately, the Wallarah and Blackley Ovals site appears wholly unsuitable for a development of this scale. Even for the basketball community, the stadium may quickly become inadequate if, as claimed, the sport continues to experience rapid growth. A location such as Glendale or the Upper Hunter Valley, which can better support future expansion, would be far more appropriate.

Thank you for taking the time to consider these concerns. I strongly urge the decision-makers to revisit the proposal and genuinely engage with the community to ensure the long-term wellbeing of both residents and sporting participants.

I object to the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre being built at the proposed location due to the following reasons:
- major traffic congestion due to being opposite Hunter Stadium and being located on a very busy road
- parking issues already exist in the surrounding streets. This would further add to the parking problems
- Loss of parkland for local residents
- loss of playing fields for local sporting clubs- soccer, cricket and schools
- increased flood risk for the surrounding area due to the amount of water runoff from the facility
We should never lose our green space in a city. Once it has gone, it has gone for all time.