On Friday, November 10 community members gathered at CAF Consulting in Shepparton to discuss our town’s future.
Around the table sat Greater Shepparton Basketball Association president Peter Sutherland, CAF Build and CAF Consulting managing director and Committee for Greater Shepparton board chair Leigh Findlay, Ken Muston director Steve Martin, Shepparton Gators director Steve Beks and Shepparton Gators player as well as CAF Consulting building designer Tom Frame.
Their objective was simple: to make the long-awaited Shepparton Sports Stadium upgrade happen.
To transform the dreams of local players, parents and children into a tangible reality — a stadium of which the town could be proud.
“We’re trying to offer support and alternatives and find a solution we believe is attainable,” Mr Martin said.
Mr Findlay said it was a community-led initiative between like-minded people working to find a realistic solution to a long-standing problem.
The group’s formulation follows a resurgence in appeals for an improvement to the stadium; its last major upgrade having come more than 30 years ago.
The Greater Shepparton Basketball Association is literally overflowing with players, with junior games scheduled as early as 4.20pm, and adult games scheduled as late as 9.20pm.
Due to capacity issues at the stadium, many of the junior games have been shifted to the Visy Centre (formerly Wanganui High School’s stadium).
The upgrade has previously been quoted as costing $50 million to $60 million, which would involve the current stadium being knocked down and a new one being built in its place.
Many community members, including everyone at this meeting, believe this is unrealistic and will never happen.
Besides, the venue is already over its capacity.
Where are the players and teams supposed to go during the rebuilding period?
Instead, the group asks, “Why not use what we’ve got?”
They had been reviewing stadiums across Victoria, the country and even overseas to see how the current venue could be upgraded and have additional courts and amenities added to it.
Priority number one on that amenities list was a top-of-the-line bistro designed to boost revenue and make the stadium attractive to the entire community, not just facility users.
The group pointed out that this bistro would cater to the entire sports precinct and was a substantial revenue opportunity given the presence of multiple sports, including soccer, hockey, tennis and BMX riding in the vicinity.
Mr Martin used the recent example of the Australian Football Skool Shepparton Cup.
He said all of these families travelling to and visiting Shepparton for the tournament would have to go into town to eat, presenting an opportunity to cater to a need.
Mr Sutherland concurred, and said the Shepparton Junior Basketball Tournament also brought many families to the town.
Along with a bistro, the group believed the facility should be able to house other local businesses.
Some potential ideas included a gym, a nutrition and supplement store, and recovery facilities tailored for athletes.
Aside from these revenue opportunities, the group discussed the need for at least three or four new courts so the stadium could meet participant demand and a seating capacity of at least 3000.
All of this started over a coffee in a bid to get a new scoreboard for court three, which hasn’t had one for months.
The group said the next step was to engage with stakeholders, including local businesses and council.
Show your support by signing our petition: https://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
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5831 2312