A briefing session for the new Sunshine Coast Indoor Sports Centre at the Kawana Sports Precinct was held on Tuesday 23 April.
Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli convened and attended the session to provide council with another opportunity to talk with, and listen to, sporting clubs and interested community groups.
“I felt it was vitally important to bring our sporting and community together so they could hear all the information at the same time,” Mayor Natoli said.
“They deserve to be given the facts and to have their questions answered and to understand each other’s concerns.
“We, as a council, want to be open and transparent and I am hopeful that the information session we held has assisted in clarifying the reasoning behind this facility being developed at Kawana and our way forward.”
Mayor Natoli said the project validation process for Olympic venues was extensive and demonstrated the venues’ importance to the region, as well as lasting economic and social benefits they would deliver before, during and long after hosting the Games.
“Our region has missed out on large infrastructure investment for too long,” Mayor Natoli said.
“Our region could well risk losing this once-in-a-generation investment in community and sporting infrastructure by the Australian and State Governments.
“While it would be an absolute shame to lose the events during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the real shame would be the loss of this venue for our community before and after 2032.
“We have to grab this opportunity with both hands and if we don’t, other south east Queensland councils are waiting in the wings, vying to take events off us.
“Our region has a chronic shortage of indoor courts and as a result we are having people of all ages and abilities missing out on recreational and social opportunities due to lack of facilities.
“We cannot allow that to continue.”
Sunshine Coast Council Division 3 Councillor Tim Burns said consultation with the Kawana Senior Rugby League and the Kawana Junior Rugby League had been ongoing for some time and would continue.
“In particular, our council will continue to work with the Kawana Dolphins junior and senior rugby league clubs to ensure their move is a successful one,” Cr Burns said.
“With the proposed relocation of the Kawana Dolphins to Meridan Fields, I do believe that with council’s support, the club can thrive.
“At the moment, there are only two fields at Kawana Sports Precinct. The Kawana Dolphins’ relocation to Meridan Fields will provide the club with six fields and improved on and off field infrastructure.
“The club can move towards being based at a much improved, first-class community sporting facility.
“Meanwhile, the new indoor sports centre, which will be built at the Kawana Sports Precinct, will provide 11 accessible courts for community use.
“It will also convert to a 6000-plus seat show court that will meet national and international sporting standards.
“Aside from benefiting basketball, the indoor sports centre will also support a range of other local clubs and national levels of competition in sports such as netball, volleyball, pickleball, futsal and badminton.
“Importantly, this will provide an opportunity to design and construct a facility that is leading-edge in accessibility and servicing the many para-sports and athletes in our region.”
Cr Burns said a large number of council-owned sites were investigated during 2021 and 2022 and the Kawana Sports Precinct was the only site that met all requirements to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“To be eligible for this significant State and Australian Government funding under the Intergovernmental Agreement, the site for the indoor sports centre must be able to accommodate Olympic Games requirements,” he said.
“This includes elements such as size of site, proximity to an athlete village, surrounding transport networks, security overlays, access and egress to the site as well as fitting within the allocated budget.
“It is clear that there has been a significant amount of work undertaken and the business case clearly demonstrates the legacy outcomes for our community.
“What we do promise, going forward, is to work very closely with the sporting and community groups, to understand their needs and concerns so that together, we can find solutions.”
