Newcastle's Western Suburbs Junior Cricket Club has become the latest sporting group to declare vehement opposition to the proposed basketball stadium off Turton Road.
The club published a statement saying it "strongly opposes the transformation of our cherished green spaces and cricket grounds into a basketball stadium", outlining its concerns with the development.
"This stance has not been taken lightly, but with the best interests of our members and the children in the area in mind, reflecting our dedication to preserving the sport's legacy and promoting its future within our community," the club's statement said.
The proposed stadium would be built on Wallarah and Blackley ovals, but has attracted objection from surrounding residents and sporting clubs that want the ovals retained.
Member Craig Boys, who wrote the statement, said the club wanted to clarify its stance due to conflicting messages circulating in the community.
"Our club will always continue to respect the diverse views taken by all other cricketing groups within the Newcastle area and their right to hold their own positions," the statement said.
"Importantly, WSJCC will continue to have our own voice on matters which we believe strike at the heart of the future of our club and the ability of local children to participate in cricket."
The club's concerns centre around the loss of local cricket facilities. The statement said the club had 23 teams and 255 junior players.
"With an additional 16,600 new homes planned for the Broadmeadow area, we anticipate a significant increase in local families seeking to engage in cricket, placing further demand on our club which is already the second largest junior cricket club in Newcastle," the statement said.
City of Newcastle has claimed the ovals were identified in its 2020 Strategic Sports Plan as "significantly underutilised" based on usage data compiled in 2019, as they are flood prone.
But the cricket club said its "lived experience is very different".
"This year, our 19 Saturday morning teams require 10 home grounds every weekend," the club's statement said.
"With nine home grounds in the Lambton and New Lambton area, some of which are shared home grounds with other clubs, these grounds are fully utilised.
"This scarcity is compounded during weekdays with our grounds heavily booked by other sports, reducing availability for our training sessions and compromising safety and player experience."
The club said removing the ovals was part of a broader issue after other cricket facilities in the area were decommissioned at District Park Broadmeadow, Alder Park and Kentish No2, and the council's strategic sports plan flagged possible further cricket infrastructure removal at Lewis Oval, Regent, and Johnston parks.
An agreement has been struck between the council and Cricket NSW to install a new synthetic wicket at Hudson Park, Kotara and reinstate a turf wicket at Dangar Park, Mayfield to offset the loss, the club said.
"However, these measures do not fully address our concerns, as they still result in a net loss of cricket facilities within our local area and don't address the exacerbation of increased demand from other displaced codes," the club said.
Newcastle Basketball is planning to build the new stadium as it is also struggling with a lack of space for its membership base of more than 6000.
"We are turning away children every season as we have reached capacity and our aging facility leaks during wet weather further restricting its use," Newcastle Basketball chair Erica James said.
"Unlike outdoor sports like the various football codes, cricket and netball, basketball and other indoor sports do not have facilities provided and maintained by local council.
"Instead, we have to seek funding to build facilities as well as run and maintain them.
"The development of a new facility on the proposed site will provide significant value to the people of Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens."
