THE FORMER Jemena Energy gasworks site has been snapped up by a developer, leaving hopes it could house the new Newcastle Basketball Stadium in the lurch.
Land title records show Pepper Estate Pty Ltd recently purchased the Hamilton North site.
Now, councillors want to look even further afield for a place to house the new Newcastle Basketball Stadium given the Wallarah and Blackley Ovals site has been far from a slam dunk with surrounding residents.
Ward 3 Greens Cr Sinead Francis-Coan and Independent Cr Mark Brooker have co-signed a motion which would see Newcastle council investigate alternatives in areas like Lake Macquarie or Port Stephens.
The motion asks chief executive Jeremy Bath to formally withdraw support for the Wallarah and Blackley Ovals site by notifying the state government and making a submission on the development application.
Cr Brooker said it is evident that parts of the community are strongly opposed to the Broadmeadow proposal.
"Absolutely a new stadium is required, but I don't think a new stadium in the wrong spot is the answer the community wants," he said.
"I'm not proposing it going to Caves Beach or Soldiers Point, it would need to be somewhere central in the Lower Hunter region.
"I honestly don't believe that City of Newcastle (CN) can say, hand on heart, that it's the only place in Newcastle for it."
The existing stadium is 55 years old and no longer fit for purpose. Newcastle Basketball has been searching for a new home since 2019.
The site has to be vacated at the start of 2028 to make way for the Broadmeadow Place redevelopment.
Newcastle Basketball chief executive Ian McKensey said the stadium's 10,000 regular users will be left with nowhere to go.
Even if another site was found, he said the time and cost to go back to the drawing board would see state funding withdrawn and any hope of a new place to play would "evaporate forever".
"This isn't just about basketball, as well as support from 2000 people through online and paper petitions, we have welcomed formal support from a range of stakeholders including CN and local community and state sporting organisations," he said.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build an inclusive, modern sports facility that benefits the entire Hunter Region, one that supports women's participation, disability sports, and promotes health and physical activity.
"Losing this project would be a devastating setback for the whole community."
Mr McKensey said almost $1 million has been spent investigating and planning assessments for multiple sites, which concluded that the "only possible site" for the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre is the one on the table.
The motion to councillors would see alternative locations explored in consultation with neighbouring local government areas that "may better serve the broader Hunter region's basketball community" while "minimising negative impacts on any single locality".
Cr Francis-Coan said the goal is to find the best possible outcome for everyone.
"I really feel for Newcastle Basketball as I feel for Ward 3 and Lambton residents," she said.
"This has been a bit of a fraught process from the very beginning and it's indicative of when the community hasn't been brought in at an earlier stage in a process."
Councillors may also ask for a report within three months detailing the results of discussions with neighbouring councils and stakeholders about alternative sites.
The council will vote on whether to ask for an assessment of potential locations in Newcastle that could accommodate the stadium with minimal disruption to communities.
The report would also recommend improvements to process to ensure comprehensive community consultation on major projects from their inception.
Newcastle councillors voted to write to the state government asking it to purchase the gasworks site in September.
Jemena completed a $11.5 million remediation project on the 7.5 hectare former gasworks site in 2020.
The project used cap and contain methodology to secure contamination on the site, which operated as a gasworks between 1913 and 1985.
The site is now zoned as industrial.
Pepper Estate is owned by Precinct Capital, which developed the Steel River Industrial Estate at Mayfield West.
