Hunter's Sporting Shame Exposed Through Regional Comparisons
A Hunter local's recent sporting travels have highlighted what many in the region have long suspected - Newcastle's public indoor sporting facilities are embarrassingly behind comparable regional centres across New South Wales.
Kellie Boettcher from Kotara recently witnessed firsthand the quality facilities available in other regional cities while accompanying her daughters to school sporting competitions. 'Two weeks ago, I took my daughters to Wagga for a school water polo tournament at their beautiful indoor/outdoor aquatic centre,' she reported, noting the venue was surrounded by quality sports fields.
Regional Rivals Outpacing Newcastle
The comparison became even more stark when Boettcher visited Wollongong for a netball competition at their multi-purpose indoor sports centre, followed by a trip to Canberra for another water polo event held across five indoor public pools.
'Why is it that Newcastle is so far behind in publicly accessible sporting facilities?' she asks, pointing out that the Newcastle/Lake Macquarie area continues to be overlooked for development of both a public indoor aquatic centre and a decent indoor sports centre.
Her research reveals other regional centres are receiving significant investment while Newcastle misses out:
- Blacktown is set to receive a new $77 million aquatic centre within 18 months
- Quirindi is having $6.6 million spent on updating its facility
- Tamworth's aquatic centre is also being upgraded
- Canberra is spending millions upgrading its indoor Olympic pool despite having five other centres
Population Versus Investment Disparity
The situation becomes even more perplexing when considering population statistics. Newcastle's population exceeds all these other regional centres, and the area certainly produces enough talented athletes to support better local facilities.
'What is it that needs to be done to bring Newcastle in line with these other areas?' Boettcher questions. 'How many sporting competitions could we host with some decent indoor facilities?'
For families who regularly travel for sport, the contrast is particularly glaring. Sporting facilities in Newcastle represent an embarrassment to our councils and local governments, leaving many wondering who bears responsibility for this infrastructure gap.
The sentiment expressed in this letter reflects growing community frustration about the allocation of sports infrastructure funding across regional NSW, with many Hunter residents questioning why their significant population base isn't translating into better public facilities.
