LAUNCESTON looks set to be the future home of international netball in Tasmania, after a court debacle at Glenorchy rocked state organisers late last week.
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A pre-World Cup game between Scotland and Wales had to be moved at the last minute due to unacceptable court conditions at the Derwent Entertainment Centre, according to Netball Tasmania chief executive Julia Phillips.
Ms Phillips said Sellotape had been used in some areas of the Derwent Entertainment Centre court on Friday, in a rushed attempt to have it ready for the pre-sold Saturday game.
She said organisers had been unable to view the court before then and were disappointed with the outcome.
Explaining the shift to the Hobart Netball and Sports Centre, Ms Phillips said: ‘‘It obviously put a huge amount of work on the event team on Friday, who were still in the office at midnight.
‘‘Everybody pulled together,’’ she said.
‘‘The issue for us was that we had more than 800 tickets pre-sold for the DEC. Those were of course numbered seats – the Hobart Netball and Sports Centre doesn’t have that.’’
Although the games were top quality and had a largely positive vibe at the centre, the shemozzle has cut Hobart out of the picture for future international games.
‘‘At the moment, as it currently stands, the Silverdome is the only venue in Tasmania that would meet the standards,’’ Ms Phillips said.
‘‘Credit where credit is due, it was a fantastic venue.
‘‘Even if an international netball game was in Hobart, we would still want to have at least one game in Launceston. The netball community up there is fantastic.
‘‘We would like to acknowledge that kind of support and engage it by giving the local community some top-class netball there.’’
She said the association would be meeting to discuss matters with Glenorchy City Council.
Launceston mayor Albert van Zetten said it was fantastic news for the North.
‘‘That is the importance of having world-class facilities well maintained and kept in good order,’’ Alderman van Zetten said.
‘‘It does cost money to do that, but I think it’s important to get great results and have world-class teams playing here.’’