As a young player in Newcastle, I want to express my strong support for the new Hunter Indoor Sports Centre. Our current stadium is old and overcrowded, and too many kids miss out on teams or games because there just aren’t enough courts.

The new HISC would give players like me a chance to train and play year-round, no matter the weather. It won’t just help basketball—it will also open doors for other sports like futsal, pickleball, volleyball, and netball.

More courts mean more opportunities for young people to stay active, develop skills, and be part of something positive. It also means a healthier and more connected community, where everyone has the chance to play and belong.

This project is about giving young people the opportunities we deserve. I fully support the HISC development and hope it goes ahead

This project is a great idea - the basketball community has been waiting too long for facilities!!

I support the project. Its very much needed for the Hunter region.

This submission would benefit the community. It would allow more space and access for young people to engage in sports such as basketball etc. This is absolutely a win for Newcastle.

Our community deserves a state of the art facility - the location and design delivers this.

Our kids bear facilities that don’t flood or leak. It’s such a popular game and Newcastle deserves better than they currently have.

I support the new stadium as a person who understands how important public sporting facilities are to all members of the community - elite sportspeople, families, occasional participants and people looking for ways to connect to their community.

I have viewed the proposed new stadium and see that it will be a great addition to Newcastle sporting facilities as well as local club-based competitions.

The existing stadium is 60+ years old and no longer fit for purpose. It is too small, some courts are not regulation lengths and it doesn't have enough seating. The current stadium roof leaks when it rains. I know that parents mop up wet floors to keep kids safe when participating in games. I also know they have had matches cancelled because of water on the court.

Basketball is a very popular sport, and I understand that there are not enough courts at the current stadium. A percentage of registration fees go towards court hire at other venues to accommodate the number of players wanting to participate. Those fees could be better spent encouraging more people to participate and developing players.

The new stadium will be a facility to be proud of. It is what a city the size of Newcastle should have - accessible, contemporary, to international standards, sustainable and inclusive. A new indoor sport facility will mean that Newcastle can host international events as well as local club-based competitions and activities in many different sports. It will add to the existing sporting precinct comprising the McDonald Jones Stadium, the Newcastle International Hockey Centre, a swimming complex with diving and water polo pools and other ovals and cricket pitches.

It will be just as important to the amateur, trying out a new sport, making friends, attending events and activities. It is located so that it is easy to get to - near bus routes, a train station. It has accessible parking and entry points, lifts and facilities. Its close proximity to several schools with relatively small school grounds will make it an all-weather option for weekly sports afternoons.

A family friend has a teenaged son who spends all of his extra time at the stadium and is learning to referee and coach as well as playing representative basketball. The new stadium will be safer - with better lighting, bike path access, and safe drop off points. Families will know that their kids are in a safe and positive place.

It’s time for a new stadium for the thousands of people in the area who use it regularly. The proposed site is in an excellent position for the Newcastle area to access and close to other sporting venues which makes it a super sporting precinct.

We need better sporting facilities in Newcastle, especially a Basketball stadium that can be used for local and national competitions. It would be great to see one centre to cater for multiple games at one time.

This is an incredibly irresponsible use of land in that area. It adversely affects redidents of the area and student and staff at the nearby school(which my children attend) Newcastle does not need more elite sporting facilities, it needs third spaces like parks and paths to be shared by ALL ppl, not just those who play elite sports. Absolute madness this project has got this far.