‘Priced out of existence’: Hughan

Horsham Amateur Basketball Association president Owen Hughan believes Horsham Rural City Council has put the ‘cart before the horse’ by endorsing a site for a multi-use indoor stadium before determining its financial viability.

Mr Hughan said the association had resigned from a project control group ‘in protest’ after the council followed the group’s recommendation to endorse a Mcbryde Street site, which incorporates Horsham Basketball Stadium.

“Horsham Amateur Basketball Association has no problem with the building of a leisure centre in Horsham,” he said.

“But the direction and decisions being made by the council would mean the end of basketball in Horsham.

“We would be priced out of existence.”

Mr Hughan said the association was financially viable and had contributed millions of dollars to the stadium’s building, maintenance and upkeep. “We are regarded by the basketball fraternity as one of the best development programs in country Victoria,” he said.

“The project control group passed some figures onto us at the last meeting. Our accountants estimated our association would go from being one of the cheapest programs in Victoria to one of the dearest.

“People are telling us basketball is too expensive now as it is. As soon as we ran the numbers we thought, ‘no way, we’re finished’.”

Mr Hughan said he believed the council was in a ‘mad rush’ to endorse a site ahead of a grant application deadline.

“Not enough information has been given out. There has been no financial costing done on the centre to find out how much money it could generate,” he said.

“The building of this complex has been estimated at $8-million to $9-million, but our governing body of basketball, which is involved in building these centres across Victoria, is concerned that with the plans presented already, it is more likely to cost about $14-million or $15-million.”

Preferred location

At a meeting on July 3, Horsham council endorsed the project control group’s recommendation to build a new stadium in Mcbryde Street, which would be closed to through traffic.

Along with the basketball stadium, the site also includes the northern portion of Horsham Showground.

Cr Mark Radford said the group selected its preferred location following an extensive community engagement process and months of consultation and planning.

“The extended facility proposed for this site will complement the other sporting and community facilities that already exist within this precinct,” he said.

A community group pushing a Horsham West site incorporating Horsham College and farm land on Jenkinson Avenue is reviewing its options following the council’s decision, including seeking a meeting with Sports Minister John Eren.

Mr Hughan said the west site made sense.

“It’s obvious, because you can get two streams of money coming through,” he said.

“Your use is going to be 100 percent because you can use it through the day and night.”

Mr Hughan said adopting the west site would open doors to a major sporting precinct, incorporating indoor and outdoor sports.

“A precinct would help keep young people in Horsham, because a lot leave to go to Ballarat for good facilities,” he said.

“They might still choose to go down there for education, but they wouldn’t have to go down there for sport if they had great facilities at Horsham College.

“Plus, the shared running of the centre would halve the cost for participants.

“There’s too many things in its favour.”

Mr Hughan said he was concerned the association’s autonomy would be under threat if a private enterprise was in charge of the multi-use stadium.

“Everything we make we put back into the centre,” he said.

“But if they put in a YMCA over the top of us, they run on a profit margin, which means putting up the price at the door.

“This has the potential to destroy a very successful basketball program.

“While I am happy for a stadium, I don’t think this model is the right way to do it.

“Why didn’t they do their financial management costings for the centre and then throw it out to the public, and let the public make an informed decision which way they want to go?

“But that’s not happening. We feel the decisions have already been made.”

A draft layout plan for the Mcbryde Street site is available for public comment.

People can visit www.hrcc.vic.gov. au/have-your-say for more information.