Basketball Ballarat is keen to see an upgrade of the Minerdome as part of the Commonwealth Games legacy package, understanding its members will be off-court for up to four months in 2026 at the traditionally busiest time of the year.
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For the two weeks of the Games in late March, Selkirk Stadium will host boxing, however it will need to be offline for up to a month prior while the venue is repurposed for the event, and possibly as long as two or three months after for the surface to be relayed.
Basketball Ballarat chief executive Neville Ivey said the association was seeking some assistance in upgrading the Minerdome so it can accommodate community basketball during the time, which could then in turn be a legacy piece for basketball.
"In 2026, the time that they are talking about loosely would indicate we'll be off around about 12 weeks, we suspect it will be longer," he said.
"While there's not a lot directly to do, I think what they are underestimating is that the floors will have to be completely done again afterwards which will take some more time.
"Initially with the first briefing we had with the Commonwealth Games was a principle not to disrupt community sport, but we always thought it would be tough given the amount of participation we have and you're taking all Selkirk offline in that period.
"Essentially what you're talking about is in our network of 12 courts, eight will be away."
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Ivey said Basketball Ballarat initially worked on a document to see an extra three courts built on the Minerdome, but that was quickly knocked on the head.
"We've been working with them to say, if it's not courts, we are looking for some sort of legacy piece for basketball in Ballarat," he said.
"I understand there will not be much in way of legacy for Selkirk, but it's acknowledging for a period of time we will have up to 4000 participants who will not be able to play the sport.
"And if they do, they'll be playing at the Minerdome which is very very tired.
"We just said, 'as an act of good faith, would you consider throwing some money at the Minerdome to meet community standard?' "
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He said he was keen to see some sort of upgrade to cater for future generations such as what was being completed with the new athletics stadium and Mars Stadium.
"If you're going to talk about acknowledging the disruption to community sport, there hasn't been a lot said about what will happen to basketball," he said.
"For a period of time we'll be forced to use the Minerdome, but how do we do that when the amenities over there are simply not up to standard? Just as an example, access all abilities, we won't be able to do that at the Minerdome in its current state.
"If you achieve that, we will see a legacy and the ongoing benefit for the future generations."
