Basketball could be one of the biggest winners should City of Launceston's proposed $208 million UTAS Stadium redevelopment go ahead.
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The sport is largely based out of Elphin Sport Centre - a four-court multi-sport complex dating back to 1964 - and regularly competes for court time with various other sports including futsal and badminton.
Launceston's shortage of basketball facilities has been well-documented, with the state government's 2018 Northern Tasmanian Sporting Facilities Study finding nine more courts were needed to cater for community demand.
A promised $15m Northern Suburbs Community Hub development - likely to be in Mowbray - is set to ease the burden by providing up to four extra courts.
But the council's proposed UTAS facility - a three-court complex which doubles as a 5000-seat, one-court stadium - would provide a much-needed elite-level venue for Tasmanian NBL and NBL1 outfits.
Launceston Tornadoes chairman Neil Grose said the new courts were crucial to continuing the sport's growth.
https://www.examiner.com.au/story/7112960/new-208m-indoor-sports-facility-utas-stadium-upgrades-proposed/?cs=12
"If we are serious about taking basketball in Tasmania to the national stage - both men's and women's - we need very good court facilities in the North," Grose said.
"The JackJumpers men are in the South, but let's roll forward hopefully to a time when we've got a JackJumpers women's team in the WNBL - it would be ideal for that to be based in the North and if we've got court facilities like this, that's the logical place."
Grose, a former Launceston Chamber of Commerce chief executive, said the centralisation of sporting facilities would add vibrancy to the city's culture.
"The advantage of having them at UTAS Stadium is that you already have a first-class sporting facility right in the middle of the town - there's just this great atmosphere around UTAS Stadium when there's football there," he said.
"Let's say we've got a home game for the Tornadoes on Anzac Day weekend and on the same weekend we've got Hawthorn playing at UTAS Stadium as well - what an amazing thing for Launceston."
The news also came as music to the ears of Tornadoes coach Sarah Veale.
Court shortages have the NBL1 women's outfit splitting training sessions between Elphin, nearby schools and the Deloraine Community Complex.
The 1995 championship winner said the Northern Suburbs and UTAS Stadium developments would greatly ease the "impossible" task of sharing Elphin between multiple sport bodies.
"It's certainly something that has been needed for a long time," Veale said.
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"[Elphin] is currently really congested, everybody's trying to get court space at the same time - after school and before bedtime.
"So hopefully it will enable training for the Tornadoes to take place somewhere else and keep in line with our young basketball community wanting to participate in our game."