The National Basketball League says it is interested in "hearing more about" the proposed 11,000-seat Newcastle Entertainment Centre.
The Newcastle Herald reported on Saturday that Venues NSW had completed a business case for the Hunter Park precinct, including a new indoor stadium to replace the city's ageing entertainment centre.
Newcastle basketball and netball officials said on Monday that a new stadium could be a game-changer in their efforts to establish national league teams in the Hunter.
NBL owner Larry Kestelman, who completed a stadium and property deal with the Tasmanian government two years ago to set up the Tasmanian JackJumpers franchise, has said the league could expand in coming years.
NBL commissioner Jeremy Loeliger told the Herald on Tuesday that the league was "always open to discussions with all governments around bringing games to regions who have NBL-standard venues".
"The proposition of a new 11,000-seat stadium in Newcastle is something we would be interested in hearing more about," he said.
"We want to keep growing the NBL and the game of basketball, and bringing the sport to new regions is paramount in achieving that goal.
"Newcastle has a strong NBL history, with the Newcastle Falcons competing in the league from 1979 to 1999 and the Hunter Pirates from 2003 to 2006."
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