Co-hosted by Penrith Basketball Association and Hills Basketball Association the event will run from 25-30 September. Forty-eight teams from across Australia will compete in the Championships making it one of the most elite youth competitions in the country.

Matt Scriven, Basketball Australia CEO is excited for the next generation of players to compete in Sydney and watch the world’s best players in action.

“Holding the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup on home soil is a once in a generation experience and we want to ensure that players coming through our pathways have every opportunity to experience the game at the highest level. You can’t be what you can’t see and it’s important that we give our young players every opportunity to watch the likes of Cayla George, Ezi Magbegor and Alanna Smith in action.”

Global FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 Ambassador, Lauren Jackson added, “It’s fantastic to see Australian basketball working together to ensure that as many of our next generation as possible can experience the Women’s Basketball World Cup in Sydney. One of the most exciting parts of hosting the World Cup on home soil is showcasing the world’s best teams and players, as well as the elite pathways available to the next wave of talent.”

“I was one of the kids watching the Women’s Basketball World Cup in 1994 when it was last hosted in Australia, so I know how it impacted my desire to be an Opal. I would have loved to join my family who travelled to be at the live games, but I settled for watching it on television during my own U14 state championships at the time. So, it’s exciting that our nation’s best U14 players will have the opportunity to experience the exhilaration of playing in a national championship and attending the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in person this year.”

The Under 14’s schedule will work around the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup games to give the participants every opportunity to be a part of this amazing event.

The FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 will be held at Sydney Olympic Park from Thursday, 22 September to Saturday, 1 October.

Returning to local shores for the first time since Australia hosted in 1994, FIBA’s flagship women’s event will see 12 powerhouse basketball nations compete in 38 games across 10 days of action, all vying for the coveted World title.

The Opals, who are automatic qualifiers alongside rivals Team USA, have medalled in five of the last six World Cups, including a gold medal in 2006.

The PVRSC had the opportunity thanks to Melissa McIntosh MP to speak to Prime Minister Scott Morrison (ScoMo) yesterday. The PVRSC thanked Melissa and the Government for all their support during the COVID-19 lockdown as well as the 2020 $1.2 million dollar grant into the centre. We were able to make many significant improvements to the facility making our centre much more accessible and inclusive for all of our patrons. We were also able to talk about how we survived the pandemic and how happy we were all to see people returning to the stadium recently. To give us a few minutes shows that sporting infrastructure for the community is important to them.

To our community - our job is far from done and we take these opportunities seriously to continue to raise awareness of the importance of indoor sporting infrastructure which in our view is about fixing obesity, supporting mental health and preventative healthcare as a whole. From a business perspective, our venue attracts and supports visitors from all around the world and has a significant economic benefit to the city and all the small businesses that call Penrith home, a tournament or an exhibition can fill many local hotels and motels and really boost tourism around Western Sydney. The city of Penrith is long overdue for more infrastructure in this space as we all know and when the city has plans in place this government has always shown their support.

Our job is not to give up, the PVRSC team will keep working hard to make more of those plans a reality.

Thank you again Prime Minister Scott Morrison & MP Melissa McIntosh for your support in this space.

Source: The Western Weekender 14th Oct, 2020

Calls for the establishment of a large state-of-the-art indoor sports stadium are being made to future-proof our “sports mad” city.

With Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre (PVRSC) at capacity and Penrith’s population booming, Councillor John Thain is urging Penrith Council to seriously consider a new multi-purpose facility. He said the city needs an indoor stadium with 14 or 16 courts that had scope for future growth.

“Even once the [PVRSC] renovations are done, we are still only at six courts and they are already at capacity,” he said.

“I think for the future… we really need to look at a site somewhere in the city that is going to accommodate not just basketball, volleyball, futsal and all the other sports that are already occurring at Cambridge Park, but also netball as well.”

Cr Thain suggested planning should start immediately.

“You don’t want to get to the stage in five or 10 years of ‘why haven’t you done this’,” he said.

“We want to actually be thinking about it strategically now and finding an appropriate site and have some plans ready to go.”

Cr Thain, who sits on the PVRSC board as Council’s representative, said further expanding the existing complex, which opened as a four-court stadium in 1989, was not viable due to the site’s position.

“All we can do at the stadium we’ve got is make the amenity a little better, change rooms and bathrooms and those kinds of things,” he said.

While unsure where the new stadium would go, Cr Thain said a feasibility study should be done and all sports should have their say.

“It would make sense to have one indoor centre which could not only be used for sports, but exhibitions and that had a suitable seating arena that we could do other things in there as well,” he said.

As for funding, Cr Thain said it may require the backing of all levels of government.

“You could have part of it as a VRA, part of it as a State and Federal grant and a Council grant combined,” he suggested.

Meanwhile, PVRSC will likely remain closed for another 12 to 14 weeks after a fire hydrant pipe ruptured and spewed water under the concrete slab requiring courts 3 and 4 to be replaced.

The leak was estimated to be spewing about 9,600 litres per day under the concrete slab. PVRSC was due to re-open on October 9 following its closure for renovations in March.

Federal Member for Lindsay, Melissa McIntosh MP has announced that work is underway for the $1.2 million investment in the Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre upgrade, delivering on an election commitment for local sporting infrastructure.

“Through this upgrade, we’re delivering vital roof repairs, the installation of air conditioning, roller door replacements, electrical upgrades, painting, two court dividing curtains and evaporative cooling, as well as installation of a drinking fountain and new bathroom renovations,” said Ms McIntosh. “This is such an important multi-sport facility for our community and was in need of some work so that it can continue to be enjoyed by local families.”

General Manager of the Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre, Luke Hepburn, was delighted to see the upgrade continue during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“During this difficult time, we’re finding the positive in the negative of COVID-19. With Melissa’s support, our spirits have been kept high, gifted with the opportunity to complete these works at the centre. Witnessing all the local trades that have been engaged in our renovation project, we know firsthand how these works can keep people employed during this awful pandemic,” said Mr Hepburn.

“We want to thank Melissa and the Australian Government for getting the PVRSC through this pandemic to date. With Job Keeper, cash flow boost and Service NSW’s small business grant, we have been given a lifeline allowing us to continue to work through this pandemic and get on with the PVRSC refurbishments.”

“The Centre even hosted the Penrith Jobs Fair in February this year, welcoming more than 4,000 local job seekers and connecting them with local small businesses and emerging industries. This just shows the versatility of this Centre and its impact on our community,” said Ms McIntosh.

“I will always back our sporting facilities so more local families can stay healthy and be active.”

In a bid to stop turning people and sports away, Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre (PVRSC) is currently in the planning stages of a multi-million dollar redevelopment.

Home to sports including basketball, futsal, netball and hockey, PVRSC has been a popular recreation facility in the local area for decades.

Located in Cambridge Park, PVRSC currently has three separate arenas which comprises of six full size basketball/netball courts.

Due to the growing demand for indoor sporting facilities and the growth of basketball in Australia, PVRSC has been forced to turn away business in recent years as they no longer have space to fit everyone.

For the past two years, the PVRSC Board has been busy planning for the future and are currently in the early stages of pitching their idea for redevelopment to all levels of government.

Speaking with the Weekender, PVRSC General Manager Luke Hepburn explained why the PVRSC is in desperate need of an expansion and facelift.

“We are at capacity… we’ve got people here during the day and every night of the week. We are at a point where we have heaps of teams on waiting lists for different sports. We can’t fit any more and the only thing we can do is build more facilities to cater for the demand,” he said.

PVRSC’s plan is to build four additional multi-purpose courts, bringing the number of courts to 10.

They also want to refurbish the dated facility and add more change rooms, parking and storage.

A full redevelopment could cost upwards of $25 million.

A recent Basketball NSW report found that NSW only has 250 basketball courts compared to Victoria, which has a whopping 584 courts state-wide.

“Basketball is growing at a phenomenal rate and 90 per cent of our business is basketball,” Hepburn said.

“I think the demand has a lot to do with population growth and the interest in indoor sports because of the weather.

“It got to a point last year where we had to tell certain sports we couldn’t fit them in for as long as they wanted.”

Hepburn’s already had encouraging conversations with Penrith Council and the State Government about a potential upgrade. The Federal Government is also keen to see how they can assist.

“Along with all levels of government, Basketball NSW and Futsal NSW are also backing us,” Hepburn said.