Hunter Indoor Sports Centre (HISC)

I wish to express my strong support for the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre at Broadmeadow as resident of North Lambton.

Access and Opportunity for All

The current shortage of indoor courts is shutting children and families out of sport. This project ensures participation is not limited to those who can afford private programs or travel long distances. Opposition that centres on preserving the ovals as they are overlooks the fact that this development will actually expand access to sport for more people across Newcastle and the Hunter. Equity of access must take precedence.

Public Land for Public Good

Some concerns claim that the use of Crown land is inappropriate. On the contrary, this is precisely what public land should be for—delivering inclusive community infrastructure that benefits thousands. Leaving the land as is may serve a smaller group, but transforming it into a multi-sport facility broadens its benefit and ensures fairer, citywide use.

Addressing Traffic and Environmental Concerns

Traffic, parking, and flood management have been raised as objections. Yet the Environmental Impact Statement includes measures to mitigate these—green travel planning, stormwater design, and traffic flow adjustments. No development in a growing city is without challenges, but rejecting progress because of problems already planned for is unhelpful. The alternative is doing nothing, which fails the thousands missing out on sport today.

Strengthening Community and Economy

Critics worry about noise, congestion, or disruption to existing users. These are valid concerns, but they must be weighed against the broader community benefit—new jobs, increased tourism, stronger local businesses, and above all, healthier and more connected communities. This is not just about basketball; it is about creating shared space that supports multiple sports, schools, and community groups.

A Fair Share for Newcastle

Some argue the stadium should go elsewhere. Yet millions have already been spent investigating other sites, with none viable. Broadmeadow is part of an established sport and entertainment precinct, well serviced by transport and infrastructure. Opposing the project on the basis of an undefined “better site” is simply a delay tactic that denies Newcastle the facilities it deserves.

This project reflects fairness, inclusivity, and the responsible use of public land for public benefit. The objections raised—while understandable—too often prioritise narrow local concerns over the broader needs of our community. The Hunter Indoor Sports Centre will deliver opportunity, equity, and pride for Newcastle, and I strongly support its approval.

I have been involved in basketball in one way or another since the 70's. 1984 was considered to be a turning point in basketball following in Australia as it coincided with both the rise of Michael Jordan in the NBA and the NBL or National Basketball League in Australia which included the Newcastle Falcons. Watching the NBL inspired me to start playing. I played for 30 years. When I moved to a new town I would go to the stadium and join a team. I used basketball mainly as a way to keep fit and meet people. I loved the atmosphere. The smell of linament, the squeak of shoes, whistles and voices calling out to each other.

I passed my love of basketball onto my son. He played both summer and winter competitions, all year. He played no other sports. Some of his games were played at the Broadmeadow stadium, others at Hunter Sports High School or Macquarie College. There are simply not enough courts for the deamand of players for all games to be played at the current stadium. My son played two night before he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Part of his rehabilitation involved a foam ball and hoop. An acquired vision impairment from his operation means he cannot play any more. He still wants to be involved in basketball so he coaches his friends team. Again, lack of courts mean they have to train at 6pm on a Saturday night.

I've been in many stadiums, none as bad as the one in Broadmedow. There's asbestos in the walls, the lining from the ceiling drifts down in pieces during games and moderate rainfall makes the roof leak so much games have to be cancelled. The people of Newcastle deserve a decent stadium. The kids of Newcastle deserve the right to play the game they love and not just be told "there's not enough courts".

The current HISC proposal is perfect for the needs of Newcastle and is perfectly located within the sporting heart of the city. It makes sense for it to be located there. The current ovals are seldom used due to flooding issues and there are numerous other options for Students at Lambton High within a short walk. The current sports using these ovals could be accommodated at one of the many other ovals around Newcastle. The basketball (and all of the other sports and organisations which will use the HISC) community arr just asking for ONE location to play the sport they love in any conditions. Please think of them when you make your decision on this proposal.

I object to the proposed location for the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre as it would severely impact on the students that attend Lambton High School and local sporting clubs. Building on this green site would impact on the education outcomes, physical activity and well-being of the students who currently enjoy the outdoors on these fields. The school and community would incur additional costs, and time in planning, for the students to travel offsite. Green sites are disappearing. Don't take another one.

With 52% growth in NSW since 2022, basketball participation is becoming an important part of the Hunter Valley landscape. Our current facilities are not up to scratch. And with the lease of the current site not being renewed, we need to get moving on a new stadium.

The current proposal is modern; considerate of the surrounding areas; has more car parking than the current site; and will bring in competition related tourism and much needed dollars into the local economy. Additional parking, is needed, is just a stones throw away at the Hunter Stadium.

Let’s do this!

The proposed project will increase the amount of traffic onto Turton Road and adjoining streets. It is bad enough now when the football and hockey are in action.

I am writing to strongly support the proposed Hunter Indoor Sports Centre at Broadmeadow.
The current Newcastle Basketball Stadium is no longer fit for purpose. It is in a state of significant disrepair. The roof leaks during rain, the building looks outdated and degraded, and most concerning of all, the wet floors create a serious safety hazard for players and spectators alike. I have personally witnessed the impact of these unsafe conditions, with people slipping on wet courts. The venue has become an embarrassment compared to other facilities across the state, and it is well overdue for replacement.

The proposed site is ideal, cementing the Broadmeadow precinct as the central sporting hub for the Hunter. Concerns raised around car parking and traffic simply don’t hold weight. McDonald Jones Stadium, directly across the road, accommodates far larger crowds than the 2,000-person capacity proposed for the indoor centre. The infrastructure in this area already successfully manages traffic for much greater events, so it is more than capable of supporting this project.

Most importantly, this facility is about our kids and our community. Basketball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the region, and participation is booming, yet the facilities we are relying on are decades out of date and unsafe. Newcastle’s young athletes deserve better. Families deserve better. Our community deserves better.

This project is already at least ten years overdue. The Hunter region needs a modern, safe, and accessible indoor sports facility to match its growing population and sporting culture. Let’s stop delaying and get on with delivering the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre.

I fully support the proposal.

Newcastle is in desperate need of this facility. There are no indoor sports facilities like this for this area. Please ensure that this gets across the line. It is needed for our sports future.

A new stadium is required, but the new site should not come at the cost of other current users, including Lambton High School and the local soccer community. The traffic and parking situation will be unfavourable.

Inappropriate site selection, loss of green space, too great of an impact on surrounding community.

Wrong location. Already used for other sports and schools. Traffic is already a problem and this will add to it.

A new facility is badly needed in the basketball community but not in this location.

This is my second objection. The new proposal by the Basketball Association has not addressed any of my original concerns. So...., my concerns, as previously advised, are below:
I live across the road from this new Development, on the corner of Henderson St & Monash Rd, and will be directly impacted by this monstrosity.
1/ Traffic Chaos - Turton Rd is already bumper to bumper every day, all daytime and evening hours. The extra traffic using, entering and exiting Turton Rd will become unmanageable with people choosing to try and avoid this chaos by taking local suburban roads, e.g. Monash Rd, Young Rd, Orlando Rd and Wallarah Rd. These roads were not built to take this high demand traffic use.
2/ Entering and exiting the Development - there appears to be one way in and one way out via Turton Rd. I have addressed the traffic chaos in point one. However, there is speculation that there may be an exit point built between the fence lines of Lambton High School and Arthur Edden Oval onto Womboin Rd. Womboin Rd is a small suburban road, not built to take on the departure of large vehicles and numerous cars. The land is narrow and has beautiful old gum tree's that are home to native wildlife and birds, including an owl family. Removal of these trees would be devastating to these inhabitants.
3/ Parking - Mc Donald Jones Stadium and the Newcastle International Hockey stadium host events all year round. The parking in our local streets during a Newcastle Knights Rugby League game, a Newcastle Jets Soccer game, a large fixture at the Hockey Centre, or, a major event at the Stadium, e.g. Elton John, Paul McCartney etc already creates illegal parking in our small suburban streets with people blocking driveways and parking too close to the corners. The no. of car spaces allocated for this new development will not cater to the no. of people that will use this development, leaving the patrons to also join the overcrowded parking on our streets.
4/ Flooding - I was impacted by the 2007 "Pasha Bulka" Storm with my car written off and two feet of water through my home. The greenspace around my home was a huge reason why the water levels did not get any higher than what they were. This Development will see the loss of all this greenspace, putting myself, my pets, my home and my belongings at risk.
5/ Developing Wallarah and Blackley Ovals - these parks are used by several sporting clubs and families constantly. They are also used by several species of parrots, herons, plovers and ducks, nesting here year after year. Loss of these ovals would be detrimental to the physical and mental health of all that use them.
6/ Lambton High School - these 2 ovals are the only expansive green space the school has. The ovals are used during every break in class with children out playing games. The High School also uses these ovals for their emergency evacuations. There would be no place for the children to play, or a safe area for the children to evacuate too if these ovals are developed.
7a/ Emergency Vehicles - Fire and Rescue NSW, and, Lambton Fire Station have a central hub on the corner of Young Rd and Norah Rd. The vehicles often use Turton Rd to respond to an emergency. With extra traffic, delays in arriving at these emergencies could ensue.
b/ Emergency vehicles responding to an incident at the new Development, or the Football Stadium, or the Hockey Centre could be impacted by the traffic chaos, parking and single entry/exit point into and caused by the new Development.
8/ Lighting - the external lighting on this development may impact the mental health of residents as it would be on every night.

There are so many young kids and adults that currently use the facility not only for basketball but a range of sports and community events. Newcastle and the wider region deserve a purpose built facility that doesn't leak and is accessible for all.

The design put forward looks impressive and will go a long way to improving the facilities available to basketball and other indoor sports in Newcastle. This is incredibly important as at the moment our kids are training at very early or very late hours to be able to access courts, and while this development won't help my children directly (due to the amount of time it will take to be completed), other kids should have the opportunity to access good facilities without impacting their sleep (6am training for 10 & 11 yr olds is hard on young bodies & brains).
It is good to see how flooding is being considered in the design, I still have concerns that the current assessments are based on flooding levels now, whereas, climate change seems to be increasing these impacts so I would hope that the assessments are also taking into account this too. I would like to see the use of lots of native plants in the landscape design to support better biodiversity and help make the stadium more visually palatable for residence of Monash Rd.

This is very much needed for the basketball community. However, this centre is not just for basketball, it can support and house other sports like netball, volleyball, pickleball and more. This new centre could also bring in big sporting events and support the local economy. This has potential to support the broader community. There are no other stadiums in the area, and there is currently no other location for the sports centre to be built. Basketball and other sports, should enjoy playing and competing in the sports precinct.

I am in support of the Basketball Stadium project as it will expand on Broadmeadow, and the Hunter's sporting capabilities on both the local and representative stage.

Newcastle needs a basketball stadium as a sport with increasing popularity and demand. The current facility is inadequate. This development is vital to continue to allow this sport for health and lifestyle for kids and adults.

Comment / Message
I wish to object to this proposed development.
It is not an appropriate area for this development. The proposed site is a known flood area as per City of Newcastle agency advice as per proposal dated 17th January 2024.
There is further Flood Data supplied from SES NSW Flood Data Portal that deems areas which include Turton Road, New Lambton as a known flood area and risk.
Hunter Water has also indicated that proposed development would impact trunk sewer mains and storm water pipes. These mains and pipes would need to be relocated, again adding further cost and disruption of this area.
As a property owner of 28 Marina Ave, New Lambton (investment property) which is in same vicinity, I have firsthand experience of flooding that occurred at this address in 2007 with 300mm of water going through the home.
Further concern is the loss of sporting fields that are currently well utilised by Lambton High School and community sporting teams.
With this area deemed a flood risk, building costs would be inflated due to this and this is a further concern with regards to viability of this proposal.
This area is already a most congested area with traffic and people especially during major events, eg concerts, sporting etc. and a further concern and objection of this proposed development.
With the proposed amendments to the development, this still does not address the concerns of the inflated cost to build, local flooding and local residential traffic.

I strongly object to the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre (HISC) being built at Wallarah and Blackley Ovals. I do not believe the committee has taken into account the submissions filed previously and with their amendments they are making a height increase on the building and taking away any green space that was to be provided (how will this help with the flood issues already identified).
1/ Currently the location is being utilised by both Junior Soccer, Junior and Adult Cricket and the students of New Lambton High School. Where will these participants and students go to access healthy lifestyle options, sporting activities and required school activities? They are being punished for insufficient planning.
2/ These open playing fields and recreational area are utilised by residents for their own healthy lifestyle options.
3/ When the Newcastle Knights are playing the local streets are overloaded with cars due to limited parking. If the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre is approved I am concerned about the extra vehicles requiring parking in the area ( the proposal states one show court with a retractable grandstand seating 2500 people).
4/ When the Newcastle Knights and Lambton Jaffas are playing at the same time, parking issues are worse - this would only be compounded with the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre.
5/ McDonald Jones Stadium has started hosting major events - international music stars. Again with the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre wanting to locate at this site - parking would be worse than with point 4.
6/ The previous proposal was refused by the Joint Regional Planning Panel on the grounds of adverse traffic impacts on local residents. To avoid any such concerns, the proposed basketball stadium will feature a lane exiting Turton Road to avoid any disruption to existing traffic, and to ensure vehicles are away from Lambton High School. I do not believe this will help us (the local residents and Lambton High School). With the number of extra vehciles travelling on this busy road and surrounding roads everyday, the extra stopping of traffic due to traffic lights, I believe would create bottle necks in traffic. Therefore, creating unsafe conditions for both drivers, pedestrians, students and cyclists. It also then ripples through and affects not just local residents but other users of the roads, pathways and local cycleways.
7/ The open green space should not be impacted by massive cement buildings and a parking lot.
8/ The area is known as a flood-prone area and I have concerns with the amount of green space being taken away and the massive cement buildings and parking lot causing issues with water runoff and contributing to excess stormwater runoff, and the possibility of increasing flooding.
9/ The Hunter Indoor Sports Centre has already been rejected in areas and I believe this was a hasty decision.
10/ The Hunter Park Project/Plan is being developed to house state-of-the-art sporting facilities, green space and entertainment facilities - why hasnt' area been considered as the location for the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre.
11/ More consideration needs to be given to the location of the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre. I do agree a new and improved Basketball Stadium is required but the location on both Blackey and Wallarah Ovals is NOT the location.
Please, please condsider the local residents who use these ovals for our own health and well-being (I take my granddaughters there to play), the flood issues already raised, increased traffic congestion (not only once built but while being constructed) and of course the parking issues.

I write in strong support of the proposed Hunter Indoor Sports Centre development.
This project represents a significant and much-needed investment in the region’s sporting infrastructure. It will deliver:
Critical upgrades for Basketball NSW, supporting the growth and development of the sport at all levels.
All-weather facilities that will benefit a wide range of sports and provide schools with reliable, year-round access to quality indoor spaces.
Opportunities for showcase games and events, helping to elevate the profile of local and regional talent while attracting visitors and economic activity to the area.
A key contribution to the Broader Broadmeadow Precinct Strategy, aligning with long-term planning goals and enhancing the precinct’s role as a major sporting and community hub.
The transformation of underutilised green space into a vibrant, multi-use facility that will serve the community for decades to come.
The project team has demonstrated a thorough and responsible approach, having addressed and overcome several complex challenges, including:
Traffic and transport planning, ensuring accessibility and minimal disruption to surrounding areas.
Flood risk mitigation, with appropriate due diligence and design responses to ensure resilience and safety.
Engagement with sporting communities and schools, ensuring the facility meets real needs and garners broad support.
Careful site selection, balancing environmental, logistical, and community considerations.
To oppose or delay this project at this stage would not only undermine years of planning and consultation but would also represent a waste of taxpayer money already invested in feasibility, design, and stakeholder engagement. The benefits of this development are clear, and the groundwork has been responsibly laid.
I urge the relevant authorities to approve the DA and allow this important project to proceed without further delay.
Kind regards,
Bianca