Newcastle lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes says the community has "waited long enough" for the NSW government to commit to the Hunter Park redevelopment.
Cr Nelmes added her voice to calls from regional advocacy groups, Wests Group chief executive Phil Gardner and National Basketball League boss Larry Kestelman for the government to progress plans for a new indoor stadium and large-scale redevelopment of the Hunter Park site at Broadmeadow.
The project is City of Newcastle's number one "ask" of both sides of politics in its published advocacy document for this month's state election and has been listed on Infrastructure Australia's priority list since 2021 with a five- to 10-year "opportunity timeframe".
The council document sent to all cabinet and shadow cabinet MPs estimates the government would need to provide half a billion dollars for the redevelopment.
"For over a decade the NSW government has talked and talked about investing in Broadmeadow sports and entertainment precinct to maximise its potential in terms of new community facilities, homes and jobs," Cr Nelmes said.
"Sporting groups, residents and our community have waited long enough. We don't need another study. The planning has been done. We need action."
Venues NSW prepared a master plan and business case for the 63-hectare site last year which included a new indoor stadium, affordable housing complexes, a swimming centre, hotel, playgrounds and restaurants.
The Coalition government announced the project almost six years ago but has not committed to funding it.
Sport Minister Alister Henskens said in January that the business case had not been finalised.
Opposition leader Chris Minns said last week that Labor would not commit to funding the project in government until it saw the business case.
Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp said on Thursday that Labor had met with Venues NSW and the council to discuss the project.
"We know that this is an important initiative to the community," he said.
"We are in the process of thoroughly reviewing the business proposal and will continue to work with stakeholders on this."
Venues NSW said last year that the Hunter Park redevelopment was expected to produce $3.6 billion in economic output for the state and $3.1 billion in gross regional product.
It recommended the government spend $350 million on an 11,000-seat indoor arena next to McDonald Jones Stadium as the first stage of the project.
An "urban design framework" prepared in August last year for Venues NSW by international planning firm Hassell and seen by the Newcastle Herald says Venues NSW and Hunter and Central Coast Development Corporation completed a strategic business case for Hunter Park in 2018.
The Hassell document says Venues NSW prepared a revised strategic business case in 2020 which was "not formally submitted to Infrastructure NSW for further Gateway review and approval from the Executive Review Committee", the key government body which advises cabinet and Treasury on budget priorities.
"This project seeks to amend the Strategic Business Case to reflect a staged development strategy that identifies commercial offset opportunities and that offers a 'capital light' pathway to funding the project," the Hassell document says.
"In parallel to the amending of the Strategic Business Case, the project scope includes the development of the first Final Business Case for the first investment phase of the Hunter Park Precinct renewal."
The framework document says Venues NSW's "critical business requirements" for Hunter Park include a 10,000-seat indoor arena; a separate indoor leisure centre up to eight basketball courts in size with seating for 4000 spectators, an aquatic centre, gym and shops; upgrades to Hunter Stadium; and more parking.
The 118-page Hassell document demonstrates the extent of planning work completed for Hunter Park since the government launched the project in 2017.
It covers a wide range of planning considerations, from the types of trees which should be planted on the precinct's plazas and boulevards to potential yields from residential, retail and entertainment space.
The document also includes comparisons with major sports and entertainment precincts across Australia and overseas.
The case for kick-starting the redevelopment by committing funds to a new entertainment centre has gathered steam in recent weeks as key sporting organisations have backed the project.
Mr Gardner said Wests could comfortably afford to bankroll teams in the NBL and Super Netball if the state government built the indoor stadium.
Mr Kestelman said he would "love to see" Newcastle back in the NBL, but the city would need a replacement venue for the ageing Newcastle Entertainment Centre.
"The No.1 thing that stops Newcastle in its tracks right now is the lack of a venue," he said.
"We will not go to a tired, old venue with limited seating and limited corporate facilities."
The government has co-funded the Knights' new training centre at Broadmeadow and spent $10 million upgrading Newcastle International Hockey Centre in recent years, but the most significant aspects of Hunter Park remain up in the air.
The Venues NSW proposal estimated Hunter Park could accommodate 2700 dwellings and 6400 residents.
The government said in December that it would initiate rezoning land at Hunter Park for high-density living as soon as 2024 as part of a streamlined approvals program to address the state's housing shortage.
Cr Nelmes said Hunter Park offered a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create almost 10,000 new jobs".
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