Netball Australia Chair, Liz Ellis AO has today welcomed a commitment by the Federal Coalition to provide $300,000 towards the purchase of a portable netball court that will underpin major netball event opportunities across Queensland.
At a media call announcing the commitment today, Ms Ellis said the investment will provide new opportunities for Queensland fans and members to get up close and personal with their Netball heroes.
“Netball Queensland has a highly developed strategic plan that identifies the significant economic, health and social benefits that bringing elite netball into regional areas of Queensland can deliver.
“The purchase of a new portable court will enable Netball Australia and Netball Queensland to host tier one international and Suncorp Super Netball league matches in Cairns, the Gold Coast and Townsville, and also at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, where we can uplift capacity for major Netball events to around 9000 spectators.
“Netball is Australia’s leading sport for women and girls with over one million participants playing our game each year, including some 60,000 Queenslanders. With both our Queensland based Suncorp Super Netball league teams, the Queensland Firebirds and the Sunshine Coast Lightning, having already broken their membership records this year we know the growth trajectory is very strong.
“The social and health benefits netball provides for young women in particular are enduring, and we are grateful to the Coalition for supporting us in a way that will bring new opportunities for our fans and members to watch first class international and domestic netball in Queensland and engage with our teams,” Ms Ellis said.
Netball Queensland Chair Leanne Coddington said Netball has strong growth ambitions and identifying partnership opportunities to secure new infrastructure is part of their strategic focus.
“Netball Queensland welcomes the announcement by the Coalition today. We have already identified opportunities to take preseason Suncorp Super Netball matches into regional communities next year and we will work with Netball Australia to bring more tier one international content to fans and members right across Queensland,” Ms Coddington said.
The Federal Coalition funding will provide the capital to purchase the court and Netball Australia and Netball Queensland will take responsibility for the ongoing storage and maintenance costs of the court.
