Woden drastically needs sports facilities, the Woden Valley Community Council believes, and its new petition calls on the ACT Government to build and own a multi-purpose indoor sports stadium in the Woden Town Centre.
The petition has 354 signatures so far, and will close on 31 December.
“The ACT’s increasing population has a severe shortage of indoor sports facilities (exacerbated by the closure of Woden’s basketball stadium) leading to teams turning players away,” the petition states.
Council president Fiona Carrick said: “While the ACT Government’s policy is to support the peak sporting bodies, it is unlikely that this policy will incentivise these organisations to build more dedicated facilities in the south. Sadly, the difficult access to facilities means players are being turned away and participation rates are not what they could be.
“A centrally located facility in Woden is accessible by public transport and would attract people to the centre to connect to the community and support small business in the area.”
Basketball ACT was the first organisation to sign the petition.
“Given the dire shortage of indoor facilities in the Canberra region, the construction of a new multi-court facility in Woden will provide significant relief for our member clubs,” said CEO David Simpson.
Since the Woden basketball courts in Irving Street, Phillip, were demolished five years ago, its members have had to play competitions in Tuggeranong or Belconnen, and train in school gyms. The Woden and Weston Creek Dodgers Basketball Club even has to train four teams on one court due to the lack of facilities.
The new Woden facility could be a venue for competitions and training, and reduce the distance members had to travel.
The petition was sponsored by Greens MLA Emma Davidson. “It is great to see Woden Community Council engaging with the local community around the potential development of sports facilities for the area,” she said.
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