Wollongong MP Paul Scully is taking the lead on the city’s need for a dramatically upgraded entertainment centre by repeating his pledge the next NSW Labor Government will inject $50 million into the 20 year old facility.
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Mr Scully’s vision is to transform the venue into a tier two convention centre that will attract another 40,000 visitors and inject $12 million into the local economy every year and create close to 300 jobs.
His promise follows last Thursday’s embarrassing incident on national television when the Shot Clock failed causing the Hawks home game to be delayed for 10 minutes before the entire second quarter was played without one. For a national competition many thought the incident was not good enough. Especially when the city promotes itself as a modern, vibrant, innovative place to live, do business and visit.
WIN Sports & Entertainment Centres venues manager Marc Swan said the fault during the Hawks vs Adelaide game was the result of an unforeseeable fault occurring in the Shot Clock system. “We always endeavour to deliver a great fan experience and apologise to the fans and players for this disruption. We are working with the equipment contractor to diagnose the fault and ensure it is in operational order for future fixtures”.
Asked when Venues NSW would finish its review of the facility and tell the community a spokesperson said it was still underway and did not provide a time-frame.
“Since August 2018, Venues NSW has been undertaking extensive consultation with key stakeholders in the Illawarra region regarding a potential planning process for the Venues NSW site in Wollongong, which includes WIN Entertainment Centre and WIN Stadium,” the spokesperson said.
“This stakeholder engagement will be used to inform a draft Concept Plan for a future Illawarra Sports and Entertainment Precinct”.
That process took many years in Newcastle but Ms Scully wants it to happen much faster in Wollongong. “We have made a commitment that a Daley Labor Government would commit $50 million to upgrade the entertainment centre to bring it to the second largest convention centre in NSW. It would be a tier two convention centre and we expect it to attract and additional 40,000 visitors a year, create around 280 jobs and add about $12 million a year to the regional economy”
Mr Scully said the investment would mean Wollongong had a premier exhibition and conference venue only second to Sydney. “There is a market there at the tier two level that Wollongong is perfectly suited for. 20 years on since Labor built the entertainment centre we will be looking to make that upgrade into the future.
“It is a commitment I made in the by-election of 2016. It is a commitment that remains Labor policy and with a bit of luck after the 24th of March we will be able to set about actually doing it. We will be aiming to do it in the next term of Government”.
Mr Scully said everyone knows that after 20 years it is in urgent need of an upgrade. “We want to get it underway as soon as we can”.
He said it was not only the NBL basketball incident that highlighted that a Tina Arena concert in late 2017 also made the point very clear.
“She stopped in the middle of the concert and asked what needed to be done to get the tired venue upgraded.
Those sorts of things don’t put us in a great light. That highlights the need to get on with it,” Mr Scully said.
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Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
