It was a night of vindication for Shepparton Gators director Steve Beks.
He had seen two years of hard work pay off, and his son Sam, the team’s vice-captain, become a champion.
An unbelievable turnout for the Big V division one men’s grand final clash against RMIT should’ve left him in high spirits, with the Gators taking home the title belt on Saturday, August 19.
The doors opened to the Shepparton Sports Stadium at 5.30pm for a 7pm tip-off, but crowds started swelling more than an hour before, with a line snaking around the front of the stadium extending as far as the hockey fields.
The incredible numbers were bittersweet.
Steve found himself moving along the line, informing families decked out in red and navy that no seating was available.
Families he recognised from many of the team’s home games throughout the season.
Some families he recognised from away games that had made a two-hour trip to cheer on Shepparton.
Families who had shown up at 5.30pm, when doors were supposed to open, or even just 30 minutes later, who had no idea it was necessary to line up two and a half hours before the game.
Families with children in tears that they wouldn’t be able to cheer on their hero Derek Murphy, or who wouldn’t be able to watch their favourite teacher from school play.
Families that weren’t there to celebrate the grand final win with the players, forced to join the celebrations from home.
Eight hundred people attended the grand final, many standing behind the seating on the far side of the court with a limited view.
Steve said the actual attendance would’ve been well in excess of 1000 if he hadn’t been forced to tell people there was no more room.
This was the only bad thing about the night for Steve.
“There was one family who had brought a picnic and were all ready, and the kids were just in tears,” he said.
“I didn’t know what to do; I’m thinking, ‘should I bring them to the front of the line and let them through?’
“But then it’s not fair to the other people; it was really difficult.”
There is bleacher seating on one side of the stadium’s main court and smaller temporary seating on the other side.
Steve and the Gators explored the idea of bringing in temporary bleachers on the other side but were informed it would cost thousands of dollars and that the club would’ve needed to put a deposit down more than two weeks before.
The club would’ve had to make the investment before the Gators played in the semi-final, meaning local officials couldn’t even be sure the grand final was happening in Shepparton before reaching into their pocket.
It’s no secret that the Shepparton Sports Stadium has needed an upgrade for years.
City of Greater Shepparton Mayor Shane Sali said he was optimistic that the cancellation of the Commonwealth Games could lead to funding for this very cause.
But Steve isn’t holding his breath.
“I’ve seen the plans to have it knocked down and rebuilt,” he said.
“And I don’t think it will happen in my lifetime.”
The players weigh in
Tom Frame:
“I’ve had enough of that, it was the same last year.
We’ve got to sort something out.
We can’t be turning people away, we’re not that, we’re not that club, not that association.
Politics shouldn’t come into something like this.
People, do what you need to do, let’s figure something out.”
Ian Wright:
“The crowd was amazing, the line being that big.
We need a bigger stadium, it’s that simple.”
Captain Matt Bartlett:
“It’s firstly a great problem to be speaking about, as it speaks of the success of basketball in the town.
At multiple times through the season, not just through finals, we had capacity crowds.
All we want to do is have families come along and support us and for the kids to grow up wanting to play in front of these crowds too.
The stadium extra seating option seems like a fixable problem that doesn’t cost millions of dollars.
Lots of talk about new courts and a stadium has been floated around for a very long time, but what can be done in the meantime?
We will continue to push for a better future for basketball and sport in Shepparton, as towns like Ballarat, Pakenham, Bendigo, Albury, Warragul, Gippsland etc seem to have done in creating elite facilities for their towns.”
Instead, he’s working on practical solutions to help the Gators in the short term.
The Visy Community Centre — where the Gators have to train once a week due to stadium availability — is an option, and a venue the Gators used to play at.
The former Wanganui Park Secondary College gym has extendable bleachers that can seat up to 1000 people.
It also has an upstairs area with a small window overlooking the court, which Steve has dreams of bringing out and fully extending, creating an unrivalled basketball viewing experience in Shepparton.
All these things cost money and take time, of course, and Steve doesn’t want to make any move unless he’s sure it will benefit the team.
“I want the boys to come in, and it (the stadium) be ready for them,” he said.
“I don’t want them having to play while there’s renovations going on and that sort of thing.”
It’s not just the current Gators that are affected.
The Shepparton stars of tomorrow are finding it hard to get on the court.
A recent boom in junior players competing in the Greater Shepparton Basketball Association has made it hard for clubs to accommodate all players.
Trying to fit all the games in has led to concerns from parents about late starting times for the younger players.
Many adult games are scheduled as late as 9pm, with players not departing the stadium until after 10pm on a work day.
An increased number of games are also being played at Visy due to an overload on the Shepparton Sports Stadium courts.
In recent years, the Shepparton Gators have gone from division two champions to back-to-back grand finalists and, this year, division one champions.
The hundred or so fans in attendance have increased to almost a thousand at the Swamp, with the Shepparton crowd getting plaudits from players and coaches across the league.
And the number of young Shepparton ballers has ballooned.
Throughout all this, the Shepparton Sports Stadium (and other Shepparton basketball courts and facilities) has remained essentially the same, with its last major upgrade coming in 1992, 20 years after its opening.