Hoops

Parks Community Centre upgrade

Basketball is so far down the list at PAE, the only upgrade you will see to the sports centre will be the pools. If the stadium get an upgrade it will be floors only and the target market will be soccer and inline hockey

The upgrade is a great opportunity to ensure that basketball courts are to playing standard and that 2 or 3 courts are built. 4 multi-use courts would be ideal.

The only problem is that the area is a low socio-economic area and basketball thrives in the higher areas due to the higher cost, but just think about how this could be an upgrade on some stadiums for some clubs.

Alternatively, rather than creating a new district club, or relocating a club there, just imagine how having four, non-biased courts could be used to grow the game.

I can recall a discussion I had with a guy from one of the larger Victorian Associations about 3 years ago. They have a "build it and they will come" attitude to their association's growth. If they can acquire a stadium booking, they just grab it and then look for teams to fill it, or create a competition to fill the courts. He said that there is never a shortage of teams, always a shortage of courts.

The State Government is falling over itself to prove it is a "government for the people" and social inclusion is a massive priority for the government. The opportunity that this upgrade presents to the basketball community of SA only comes around every so often. This is low hanging fruit "ripe for the picking". The only problem being is that if basketball doesn't pick it, someone else will.