Newcastle lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the future use of the Newcastle Basketball Stadium site has not been determined but the land was "crucial" to the Hunter Park project.
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Cr Nelmes made the comments on Wednesday while announcing plans for a new $30 million basketball stadium across from McDonald Jones Stadium in Broadmeadow.
Lake Macquarie MP Greg Piper helped secure $25 million from the state government for a regional basketball stadium in 2019 and a further $5 million election commitment from the Liberals if they reform government on Saturday.
Labor said they were "eager to partner with organisations to deliver sporting infrastructure" and would look at the proposal if they formed government.
The stadium plans were shifted from Lake Macquarie after a development application for a site at Hillsborough was rejected last year.
Lake Macquarie mayor Kay Fraser said it was "not a drama" that the stadium would no longer be built in her local government area and was glad a site was able to be secured.
"As long as it's built in the region," she said.
"Obviously Lake Macquarie was a catchment for basketball. They wanted to move to Lake Macquarie but we had all those transport issues and ultimately it couldn't be delivered where they wanted to deliver it.
"The Liberal state government with Greg Piper made that announcement at the last election. So here we are four years down the track, nothing has been delivered and now we're looking at another site.
"So I just hope it doesn't take another four years because we need to have facilities for people to play basketball and they've been waiting for so long."
Newcastle Basketball manager Matthew Neason said they planned to continue conversations with Lake Macquarie council.
"Because there is a need for facilities broadly across the local region," he said. "We look forward to continuing that great work with Lake Macquarie council to look at facilities out there."
Mr Neason said he expected planning to take between six and 12 months, before the build which is expected to be another 18 months to two years.
The new stadium will replace Newcastle Basketball's current complex on Young Road, which is inside the Hunter Park sport and entertainment precinct footprint.
"This site is obviously very crucial in the Hunter Park precinct," Cr Nelmes said. "Its future use has not been determined."
Cr Nelmes said council would next month lead community discussions with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment about the Broadmeadow precinct and its land uses.
"[We will be] looking at the corridor that goes from really the interchange in Newcastle right through to Broadmeadow," she said. "Because that's where we all know that the next light rail extension should be, and then looking at all of the parcels of land that could actually be used for housing in this area that complements international sporting and entertainment facilities.
"It would be one of the largest redevelopment projects this region would have ever seen... but we need to make sure we get that right and that starts with that consultation level."
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Sage Swinton
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
