On the ball: Coker commits $6m to Armstrong Creek indoor facility

INDOOR ball sports in Armstrong Creek will get a big bounce under an Albanese Labor Government, with Labor pledging to commit $6 million towards a Regional High-Ball Facility if it wins the federal election.

To be built somewhere in the Armstrong Creek Town Centre, the $15m indoor stadium is a priority project for leading lobby group G21.

The facility will service not only local demand for basketball, netball, badminton and volleyball but also be capable of hosting state and regional tournaments.

Corangamite Labor federal member Libby Coker announced the $6m election commitment this week.

She said the facility would help to address the lag in sporting and community infrastructure in Armstrong Creek and provide an opportunity for the area to host their first regional tournaments.

“This is a really exciting project and a milestone in the development of the township of Armstrong Creek. It will make up part of the character of Armstrong Creek for years to come into the future.

“It will be a place where hundreds of local families, the kids and the mums and dads, come together, meet each other and make friendships.

“That’s the great thing about community sports and why I’m so keen to support these projects.

“The facility will also be a host facility for regional and possibly statewide tournaments where kids can see the elite players and get inspired. I’m very proud to deliver these commitments.”

The City of Greater Geelong has previously turned its attention to the need to build indoor sport infrastructure in Armstrong Creek.

The city’s Indoor Recreation and Sport section of its Social Infrastructure Plan from 2020 to 2023 notes the previous version of the plan recommended developing new indoor recreation facilities in key growth areas, including three facilities in Armstrong Creek’s precincts.

The latest plan recommends conducting a feasibility study into building an indoor sports stadium in Armstrong Creek Town Centre, including a multicourt indoor sports stadium with the potential for flexible entertainment space, including “exploring an alternative delivery model and the use of developer contributions”.

The plan also notes that indoor and high-ball centres will “need to be adaptive to a range of activities and to be able to meet the changing needs of the community, and include provision for basketball, netball, volleyball, gymnastics, squash, table tennis and futsal at a minimum”.

G21’s $15m ask for the Armstrong Creek Town Centre indoor regional highball sports facility is just one of the infrastructure projects the lobby group is seeking for Armstrong Creek in what G21 has broadly classified as Regional Growth Areas spending and listed as a Priority Project.

Other specific requests include $44.8m for an Emergency Services Hub in the Armstrong Creek Town Centre, $20m for a regional library and community facility (also in the town centre), $80m for primary schools (four at $20m each), $70m for secondary schools (two at $35m each), and $58m for land and construction of the Armstrong Creek West regional sports facility.