{"id":117250,"date":"2025-11-06T10:58:52","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T23:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/?p=117250"},"modified":"2025-11-06T11:01:50","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T00:01:50","slug":"bendigo-spirit-wnbl-ballarat-matches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/bendigo-spirit-wnbl-ballarat-matches\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBL match and clinics coming to Ballarat"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Elite women\u2019s basketball is heading to Ballarat, with the Bendigo Spirit confirming two WNBL games will be played in the city as part of a major statewide tour.<\/p>\n<p>Under a landmark agreement with the Victorian Government\u2019s Significant Sporting Events Program, the Spirit will deliver matches and community programs across regional Victoria throughout the 2025\u201326 and 2026\u201327 seasons.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ballarat will host two regular-season WNBL games:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bendigo Spirit v Geelong Venom \u2013 Friday 5 December<\/li>\n<li>Bendigo Spirit v Southside Flyers \u2013 Friday 9 January<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cThis partnership is a game-changer for women\u2019s sport and regional communities,\u201d said Sports Entertainment Network CEO Craig Hutchison.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re proud to bring elite basketball to new audiences, tell the stories of our incredible athletes, and inspire the next generation of players and fans across the state.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The initiative has already seen pre-season games held in Warrnambool and Shepparton, alongside local clinics and school visits by Spirit players.<\/p>\n<p>Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos said the program would deliver a big boost to communities like Ballarat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThanks to the Significant Sporting Events Program, people all over regional Victoria will have the chance to enjoy elite basketball,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShowcasing women\u2019s basketball in great towns like Ballarat supports the future of women\u2019s sport, while also backing local tourism, jobs and businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to match nights, the Spirit will deliver open training sessions, coaching clinics, school visits, junior development programs and networking events in Ballarat.<\/p>\n<p>All games will be broadcast nationally via 9Now, ESPN and Disney+, with extra content created by SEN\u2019s Rainmaker production team.<\/p>\n<p>For tickets and information about the tour, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/bendigospirit.wnbl.com.au\/\">bendigospirit.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Elite women\u2019s basketball is heading to Ballarat, with the Bendigo Spirit confirming two WNBL games will be played in the city as part of a major statewide tour. Under a landmark agreement with the Victorian Government\u2019s Significant Sporting Events Program, the Spirit will deliver matches and community programs across regional Victoria throughout the 2025\u201326 and [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/bendigo-spirit-wnbl-ballarat-matches\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":162,"featured_media":117252,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-117250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>WNBL match and clinics coming to Ballarat - 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