Fraser Coast Sports & Recreation Precinct Master Plan

The new basketball centre is taking shape with several milestone announcements being made today.

Fraser Coast Regional Council Director of Strategy, Community and Development Gerard Carlyon announced today the formal approval and signing of a $2.8 million grant for the construction of a new multipurpose basketball facility at the Fraser Coast Sports and Recreation Precinct.

“Hervey Bay Basketball is one of the fastest-growing sporting associations on the Fraser Coast with close to 600 players being registered last season,” he said.

“This facility will address the current and future growth requirements of basketball in the region.

“It’s a much-needed investment for now and it’s an investment for the future of Fraser Coast sport, leisure and entertainment.

Mr Carlyon said Council was also pleased to announce the formalisation of a 20-year lease agreement for the facility, ensuring the Basketball Association had a dedicated home for the next two decades.

“The project involves relocating the Hervey Bay Basketball Association to a specifically designed stadium within the Fraser Coast Sports & Recreation Precinct, representing a significant and transformative regional investment in sports and recreation facilities,” he said.

“With training programmes increasing in the lead-up to the 2032 Olympics, this facility will provide a much-needed boost to regional facilities and provide current standard training facilities for aspiring basketball players.”

The new precinct will include two indoor courts, all-ability change facilities, umpire services, club meeting rooms and health and fitness spaces.

President of Hervey Bay Basketball Association Matthew Baker said the association was very excited about the opportunities a new precinct will bring to the club and the region.

“We can also confirm that Bendigo Bank has acquired the naming rights to the stadium by contributing $50,000 to the project.”

The newly named Bendigo Bank Stadium will be a great facility for us to create new basketball programmes and clinics, continue to grow our competitions, attract regional level basketball events, and host first class tournaments,” he said.

The community will also be able to hire the basketball facility when the basketball association is not using it for practice and games.

The new multipurpose facility was a key element in the Fraser Coast Sport and Recreation Precinct Master Plan.

Construction of the new facility is expected to start within months with completion of the new basketball facility expected in late 2025.

A premier field surrounded by a stadium and earth banks that could seat thousands of spectators is among features proposed in the Fraser Coast Sports and Recreation Precinct Master Plan 2022.

“The draft master plan which was endorsed by Council today (Wednesday February 22) is the strategic vision for the future staged development of the Fraser Coast Sports and Recreation Precinct,” Cr Darren Everard said.

“It identifies what the site should look like and how it should function and takes into consideration community needs and aspirations, existing and potential future users as well as emerging trends in sport and recreation.

“While the Master Plan sets out the future development, we do not anticipate that all elements will proceed immediately. It is a guide to the future development of the precinct.

“The timing for development will depend on available grant funding from the Queensland and Australian Governments, demand and potential community and commercial partnerships.”

The focal point of the precinct is the premier field and adjacent multi-use centre.

“The premier field will provide a first-rate facility capable of hosting high-level sporting and community events,” Cr Daniel Sanderson said.

It is envisaged that the field would have permanent spectator seating for 3,500 and grass spectator embankments surrounding the field, creating an amphitheatre effect which could accommodate 20,000 additional spectators.

Key facilities will include a premier AFL oval, capable of supporting a rectangular field, lighting, scoreboard, covered seating and embankments, amenities and support facilities for players, coaches and officials, kitchen and kiosk, storage facilities and a gymnasium.

The multi-use leisure centre would be the “gateway” to the main precinct. It will enable a variety of sport, recreation and health and wellbeing activities.

Facilities in the leisure centre could include:

• an indoor courts zone with five multi-purpose indoor courts and one show court with retractable seating;
• a health and fitness centre with program rooms, spin room and gym;
• a wellness/ allied health centre with dedicated consultation rooms;
• indoor and outdoor climbing;
• a café and retail zone;
• an aquatics zone featuring a warm water program pool;
• an outdoor zone featuring beach volleyball courts; and
• future potential outdoor multi-purpose hard courts, and future expansion areas.

Cr Sanderson said an essential feature of the leisure centre was its relationship with the premier field, enabling both the leisure centre and premier field to operate as the Precinct’s central hub.

“The leisure centre changerooms will be accessible externally to the premier field to support additional teams for larger sporting events when required,” he said.

The outdoor sport zone will respond to immediate and longer-term demand for outdoor field sports.

The master plan outlines three ovals, clubhouse, and amenities, eight additional netball courts, an athletics precinct featuring a grass athletics track (with the option for a synthetic track in the future) and a clubhouse and amenities block.

A dedicated cycling precinct and “adventure park” will be provided in the northern section of the Precinct to provide a range of cycling and recreation activities for all ages and abilities.

The facilities include a recreational pump track, skate/ parkour zone, mountain bike skills park, a sealed criterium track featuring two interconnected loops of 0.9km and 0.6km lengths and a 200m finishing straight, amenities, lighting and storage facilities.

The 60-hectare Fraser Coast Sports and Recreation Precinct is on the corner of Woods Road and Chapel Road, Nikenbah.

Stage one of the precinct opened in February 2019 with facilities for netball, soccer and Oztag.

Since the opening, Fraser Coast Cycling has also been based at the precinct and Council has had discussions with the Hervey Bay Basketball Association to relocate to the precinct.

The precinct has already hosted the Brisbane Roar football team on multiple occasions for training camps and exhibition games attended by thousands of people, while the Queensland Reds rugby union squad recently held a pre-season training camp there.

“The completion of stage one was a significant milestone, but it’s also the first step in a long journey. This precinct will grow as our community grows,” Cr Everard said.

“It’s an investment for now and it’s an investment for the future of Fraser Coast sport, leisure and entertainment.”

Fraser Coast Regional Council has endorsed an innovative funding agreement to help the Hervey Bay Basketball Association at the Fraser Coast Sports and Recreation Precinct.

“Given the growth of basketball across the Fraser Coast, particularly in the Hervey Bay area over the past three decades, there is a critical shortage of appropriate sporting and community facilities to service the sport,” Cr Daniel Sanderson said.

“The proposal by Council is innovative and enables the association to build a modest interim facility to meet their needs for the next decade on land leased from Council at the precinct.”

Under the plan, developers within the catchment area for the precinct could choose to allocate their infrastructure charges to the development of community facilities at the precinct. Normally the funds are collected by Council which allocates them to a range of infrastructure projects within the catchment area.

“The infrastructure charges from the equivalent of 100 new housing lots would generate $2.8 million," Cr Sanderson said.

“Other projects would not be affected as funds collected from developers outside the precinct catchment area would still be available for other projects.

“The $2.8 million, coupled with $500,000 from the association, would be enough for a facility with two indoor courts and one outdoor court.

“The community will be able to use the facility when the basketball association is not using it for practice and games, so Council is also providing additional community and recreational facilities at the precinct.”

The survey providing the opportunity to “have your say” on the draft Fraser Coast Sports and Recreation precinct has now closed.

The responses will collated, analysed and summarised and forwarded to the design team for their consideration, along with the feedback from 14 workshops and meetings we held with the precinct user groups during our engagement period.

We look forward to continuing to work with the Fraser Coast community to shape the vision, principles and design direction for the Precinct into the future.

Only five days to have your say on the Fraser Coast Sports & Rec Precinct draft Master Plan!

The Sports & Rec Precinct has the potential to change the face of sports and recreation on the Fraser Coast. The precinct will play an important role in catering for the sports and recreation needs of our existing and growing community ranging from formal, competitive sport to informal active and passive recreation.

The Master Plan will provide a long-term vision for the Precinct and will identify how it could look and function in the future.

Make sure you have your say on how you want it to look, the facilities it will offer and any concerns you have with the draft as it stands now.

Click here to compete the survey!

Survey closes on Monday 21 February at 5:00pm.