The association has said the $21 million project is “shovel-ready”, but the scope of what can be initially achieved will depend on a federal grant approval, expected to be determined in the next fortnight, to top up the $14 million state and council money confirmed in last week’s state budget.

Ballarat Basketball is continuing to draw in big events to its home at the Minerdome. 

National Basketball League club Melbourne United will return for a community camp and NBL exhibition game in August, while the association is also deep in negotiations to get Women’s National Basketball League club Melbourne Boomers to Ballarat for a likely September pre-season camp.

Ballarat will also host the Basketball Victoria Country Club Championships for under-12 to under-18s in October.

This follows success in hosting last month’s Australian under-18 men’s and women’s basketball championships, held simultaneously with the Kevin Coombes Cup for national under-23 wheelchair basketball. 

Ballarat Regional Tourism revealed on Monday that the tournament had injected more than $1.6 million into the city.

However, scope for future large-scale tournaments and domestic competition development hangs in the balance until Ballarat Basketball knows the exact amount of stadium money it has to work with.

Ballarat Basketball is waiting on approval for project money via the National Stronger Regions Fund under which it has applied for up to $10 million in round one offers, due to be announced by the end of this month.

How much the association receives, should it receive any at all, will determine the next step the association will make, together with council and government, for stadium planning.

Ballarat Basketball chief executive officer Peter Eddy said the association had a clear view on how the project should unfold, with a top priority on more courts for community use.

This includes establishing a junior netball competition in Wendouree, more courts for domestic basketball and training facilities for elite basketball teams Ballarat Miners and Rush, state league netball team Sovereigns and their junior representative programs.

After that, the association’s view is to build a show court and multipurpose event space and a minimum of six courts to meet national tender requirements.

Eddy said the association was focused on strengthening its domestic competition, which operates about 40 weeks of the year, and was selective in the events it applied to bring to Ballarat.

He said the Australian under-18 championships raised the profile of the sport, created opportunity to bring key basketball figures to Ballarat – such as Basketball Australia boss Anthony Moore – and, importantly, a chance to engage volunteers keen to step up again when the next event came to town.

melanie.whelan@fairfaxmedia.com.au