With the Shepparton Gators promoted to Big V’s top league, the Championship, it’s time to see if the Shepparton Sports Stadium will be able to compete with other stadiums at the next level.
The Championship is the highest tier of Victorian basketball and the second-highest semi-professional league in the country behind the NBL1, which is outranked only by the NBL, Australia’s only professional basketball league.
The Gators have history in the Championship, dominating the competition with multiple title wins in the 1990s and early 2000s.
They return to the premier tier of Big V basketball following their Division One grand final win at the Shepparton Sports Stadium last year in August.
The win was bittersweet, with hundreds of fans sent home due to capacity issues at the Shepparton Sports Stadium.
With Shepparton the host of the Division One grand final last year, we thought it would be fitting to compare the Shepparton Sports Stadium to the host stadium of the 2023 men’s Championship grand final.
McKinnon ran out 90-74 victors over Hume on August 26, 2023, at the Nunawading Basketball Stadium in East Burwood.
The Nunawading stadium has five courts, a café, two function rooms, a kitchen, a bar and a hall of fame room.
The Shepparton Sports Stadium has four courts and a canteen (that is volunteer-run and rarely viable to operate).
The Nunawading stadium is one of Big V’s oldest stadiums and is almost five years older than the Shepparton Sports Stadium, having been built in 1969.
Like Shepparton’s stadium, it was initially a two-court facility with funds raised by the local community and a grant from the local council.
But unlike Shepparton’s stadium, it has continuously been upgraded over the years.
Here’s a list of the stadium’s major upgrades according to the facility’s website:
1977: New flooring boards on all the courts.
1983: Two new courts and an upgraded car park were added.
1987: Flooring and sub-flooring of one of the courts were removed and replaced, with new drainage around the centre.
1989: A fifth court was added.
1997: New conference rooms, change rooms, lounges, offices and canteen.
2004: The first roof was replaced, and a new cooling system was installed.
2007: New scoreboards and timers.
2008: New rings, backboards and support.
2009: New backboards.
2010: New scoreboard.
2012: New lighting and sound system.
2013: New floors, backboards, ticket box, canteen and satellite scoring.
2014: Upgraded main court with new lights and logos, conference room carpet and canteen renovation.
2015: Court five upgrade, scoreboard and hall of fame room.
2017: Café and kitchen upgrade and new retail store.
2018: Office renovation.
2019: New benches, shot clocks and LED screen on the main court.
Now let’s look at Shepparton’s major facility upgrades:
1994: Two new courts were added.
At some point, the grandstand has been adjusted to allow for more wheelchair access, reducing seating capacity.
There have also been cosmetic changes to the reception area and a few minor upgrades to backboards and scoreboards.
Of course, Nunawading Basketball Stadium caters to a metropolitan area with a higher population, but due to its location in suburban Melbourne, it is surrounded by several other premier facilities, too.
Shepparton is different because it is the basketball hub of a broader regional area.
While towns such as Kyabram, Tatura, Benalla and more have their own stadiums, they still use the Shepparton Sports Stadium for domestic competitions or major tournaments.
The Nunawading stadium is another classic example of a facility that has been frequently upgraded and prioritised over the years, while the Shepparton Sports Stadium has become increasingly outdated each year while basketball participation rates have continued to rise.
This is the sort of facility Shepparton will be competing at this year.
This Big V season will bring players, coaches and fans to Shepparton who have become accustomed to a facility of the same standard as the Nunawading Basketball Stadium.
Some teams,players and fans will have had access to this sort of facility for one or two decades.
Put simply, Shepparton’s home court is embarrassing by comparison.
The Gators will have, by far, the most outdated stadium in the league.
And as such, the impression might be that there’s a lack of care about investing in local sport, or a lack of interest in growing and developing basketball in the town.
Anyone who proudly lives in Shepparton knows that is not the case.
And yet, the Shepparton Sports Stadium continues to stick out like a sore thumb and drag down the town’s otherwise rich sporting culture.
Show your support for our campaign by signing our petition at www.change.org/p/upgrade-the-shepparton-sports-stadium
Stand For Our Stadium: The story so far
Or reach out to us and have your say:
Contact details
News journalist Jay Bryce
5820 3195
@jaybrycenews on Instagram
Or The News desk at:
5831 2312