Maribyrnong Indoor Sports Stadium Strategy

MARIBYRNONG INDOOR SPORTS STADIUM STRATEGY
FINAL REPORT
NOVEMBER 2018
Prepared by Otium Planning Group Pty Ltd

OTIUM PLANNING GROUP PTY LTD

Head Office:

Level 6

60 Albert Road

South Melbourne VIC 3205

Phone:

(03) 9698 7300

Email:

[email protected]

Web:

www.otiumplanning.com.au

ABN:

30 605 962 169

CAN:

605 962 169

Otium Planning Group has offices in: • Auckland • Brisbane • Cairns • Christchurch • Darwin • Melbourne • Perth • Sydney

OPG, IVG and PTA Partnership has offices in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing

Document History

Document Version

Date

Checked

Distribution

Recipient

V2 Draft Report

17/09/18

K. Maddock

MCC

Patrick Jess

V2 Draft Report

Nov 2018

K. Maddock

MCC

Patrick Jess

© 2018 Otium Planning Group Pty. Ltd. This document may only be used for the purposes for

which it was commissioned and in accordance with the terms of engagement for the commission.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction

2. Project Methodology

3. Project Background

4. Project Area

4.1

Demographic review

4.2

Impact on Indoor Sports Court Provision

5. Indoor Sports Facilities Review

5.1

Maribyrnong City Council Facilities

5.2

Regional Indoor Sports Facility Provision

5.3

Existing Facility Occupancy Review

5.3.1 Summary of Maribyrnong City’s sports court occupancy

6. Consultation and market research

6.1

Local Indoor Sports Associations and Indoor Facility Managers

6.1.1 Local Basketball Associations

6.1.2 YMCA - RecWest Management

6.1.3 CitySide Sports

6.1.4 Victoria University: VU & Whitten Oval sports courts management

6.1.5 Maribyrnong Secondary College

6.2

State Sporting Associations discussions

6.2.1 Basketball Victoria (BV)

6.2.2 Netball Victoria

6.2.3 Volleyball Victoria

6.2.4 Badminton Victoria

6.2.5 Futsal Victoria

6.2.6 Gymnastics Victoria

6.2.7 Table Tennis Victoria

7. Facility Demand and Strategic Direction

7.1

Current Indoor Sport Participation summary

7.2

Current Facility Provision summary

7.3

Predicted Participation and Court Requirements

7.3.1 Maribyrnong indoor sports stadium site review

7.3.2 Draft Housing Framework Plan

8. Indoor Sports Courts facility component requirements

8.1

Component Schedule

9. Warranties and Disclaimers

9.1

McIvor Reserve site assessment notes

9.2

Whitten Oval site assessment notes

9.3

RecWest Footscray site assessment notes

Otium Planning Group  National Expertise  Local Understanding

1 1 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 7 7 8 8 8 10 12 13 14 15 15 16 17 18 18 18 18 19 19 20 21 22 24 25 26 29 31 32 34
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9.4

Victoria University site assessment note

35

9.5

Braybrook Secondary College site assessment notes

36

9.6

RecWest Braybrook site assessment notes

37

9.7

Maribyrnong Aquatic Centre site assessment notes

38

9.8

Vic Track site assessment notes

39

DIRECTORY OF TABLES

Table 1 Maribyrnong City Council Indoor Sports Stadium Provision

5

Table 2: Maribyrnong Council indoor sports occupancy levels

7

Table 3: Local Basketball player numbers

9

Table 4: Local Netball and Volleyball player numbers

12

Table 5: Maribyrnong Residents Registered with Basketball Victoria - Suburbs and postcodes

15

Table 6: Maribyrnong basketball participation levels comparison against state participation

16

Table 7: Maribyrnong Residents Registered with Netball Victoria

17

Table 8: Maribyrnong basketball participation levels comparison against state participation

17

Table 9: Maribyrnong Residents Registered with Volleyball Victoria - Suburbs and postcodes

17

Table 10: Maribyrnong Residents Registered with Badminton Victoria - Suburbs and postcodes 18

Table 11: State association data summary of current Maribyrnong indoor sport participation 2017 20

Table 12: Local club and association data summary of current indoor sport participation 2017 20

Table 13: Predicted participation and court requirements

22

Table 14: Draft component schedule

26

Table 15: Indoor courts summary sites assessment scorecard

30

APPENDICES

Appendix 1 – Indoor Courts Site Assessments

30

Otium Planning Group  National Expertise  Local Understanding

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1. Introduction
In early 2017, Maribyrnong City Council commissioned Otium Planning Group to undertake a feasibility study for RecWest Footscray.
The project was commissioned because the facility was aging (then 63 years old) and the buildings and surrounds were failing due to poor soil conditions causing the facility to sink.
The project brief identified that in the previous three years Council had developed a number of concept plans for the site and an allocation of $1M had been provided in Council’s budget to implement the recommendations within the master plan.
A review of the plans by Council Officers however, indicated that the recommendations were not based on a detailed understanding of the community needs and the budget was not sufficient to address the infrastructure requirements identified within the master plan.
The need to undertake a feasibility study to ascertain the demand for a Recreation Centre at this location or to service the area more broadly in the southern and or eastern part of the municipality was identified.
At the conclusion of the RecWest Footscray feasibility study it was determined that the facility was highly valued but had reached the end of its life and, there was significant demand for Indoor Sports Courts in Maribyrnong.
This led to Council commissioning Otium Planning Group in early 2018 to undertake the Maribyrnong Indoor Sports Stadium Strategy to provide a strategic approach to provision for indoor sports courts for the next 20+ years.

2. Project Methodology

The following details the methodology that has been followed to undertake Maribyrnong Indoor Sports Stadium Strategy.

Stage Stage 1: Project Inception Stage 2: Discussion Paper
Stage 3: Site Review Stage 4: Draft Report
Stage 5: Final Report

Task
1. Project Plan 2. Inception Meeting 3. Data Review 4. Market Analysis and Demand Assessment 5. Stadium Usage Review 6. Stakeholder Engagement 7. Discussion Paper 8. Project Manager meeting 9. Site options confirmation 10. Site assessment criteria 11. Site review and summary 12. Draft Component Brief 13. First Draft Report 14. First Draft Report meeting 15. Draft Report update 16. Draft Report meeting 17. Draft Report update 18. Final Report

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3. Project Background
As identified, in early 2017, Council commissioned Otium Planning Group to undertake a feasibility study for RecWest Footscray because the facility was aging (then 63 years old) and the buildings and surrounds were failing due to poor soil conditions causing the facility to sink.
In the three years prior to 2017, Council had developed a number of concept plans for the site and $1M had been allocated in Council’s budget to implement the recommendations within the master plan.
A review of the plans by Council Officers however, indicated that the recommendations were not based on a detailed understanding of the community needs and the budget was not sufficient to address the infrastructure requirements identified within the master plan.
The need to undertake a feasibility study to ascertain the demand for a Recreation Centre at this location or to service the area more broadly in the southern and or eastern part of the municipality was identified.
The feasibility study provided a detailed review of and options for RecWest Centre. It identified that:
• There is need for between 4 and 11 additional indoor sports courts to service the demands for indoor sports courts over the next 25 years with an immediate need for a 4 court facility.
• The single indoor court at RecWest is heavily used for training by a number of clubs affiliated with the Westgate Basketball Association. The court is not used for competition, as it does not comply with current run off standards.
• Industry trends indicate the most effective indoor facility development model includes the provision of multiple courts (preference for 4) that can be used by a range of indoor sporting codes i.e. basketball, netball, volleyball, futsal etc. This model ensures both the financial and social viability of the facility.
• The market research supports the need for additional indoor sport courts in the Footscray area however the capacity of the RecWest site to accommodate multiple courts is severely limited. The loss of the single court would have a significant impact on the clubs and teams currently using the venue for training activities.
Given the identified demand for additional indoor sports courts the following options were identified:
• Option One – Develop a minimum three courts as part of a redevelopment of the RecWest Footscray site.
• Option Two – Develop a community Centre only at the RecWest Site and identify and alternative location for a multi court facility in the catchment area.
The RecWest Footscray feasibility study concluded that RecWest was not a suitable location for a multi-court stadium for a number of reasons:
• Insufficient land • Condition of the site. Contaminated fill site/unstable ground • Impact on neighbour amenity
As a result, there was a need to look at provision for indoor sports courts municipality wide.

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4. Project Area
The City of Maribyrnong is located in Melbourne's inner western suburbs between 5 and 11 kilometres west of the Melbourne CBD.
The City of Maribyrnong is bounded by the City of Moonee Valley in the north, the City of Melbourne in the east, the City of Hobsons Bay in the south, and the City of Brimbank in the west. The western boundary runs along Duke Street and the Newport-Sunshine railway line, while the southern boundary is the West Gate Freeway.
The municipality covers an area of approximately 31 km2 and includes the suburbs of Braybrook, Footscray, Kingsville, Maidstone, Maribyrnong, Seddon, Tottenham, West Footscray and Yarraville.

Figure 1 City of Maribyrnong Location Map – Source Profile ID.
4.1 Demographic review
A review of the demographic profile of the Maribyrnong City Council area was undertaken. This was based on information obtained from .id, an online based website who complete demographic analysis along with documents supplied by Maribyrnong City Council.
Some of the key features of Maribyrnong City’s current and projected demographics that will impact or should be considered in planning Indoor Sports Courts are provided below. They characterize a population with a high requirement for access to an active lifestyle that is affordable and easily locally accessible. Such a lifestyle requires access to appropriate, fit for purpose facilities and indoor sports courts would typically be an expectation.
Population
• Actual and projected growth are both higher than Victorian averages • Residents aged 25 – 44 years (considered to the most physically active ages groups) are over-
represented and those aged 45+ years are under-represented • Contrasting findings for Greater Melbourne, there are slightly more males than females within the
population

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• Between 2006 and 2011 trends show that Maribyrnong City Council area population increased from 63,141 people to 87,355 people (ERP 2016). This equates to an approximate growth of 13.5% of the population (8,493 residents)
• It is expected that the population within the Maribyrnong City Council region will increase 108% from 87,355 (ERP 2016) to 156,290 in 2041
Diversity
• Maribyrnong is very culturally diverse with 34.4% born in a non-English speaking country, and 42.8% speaking a language other than English at home, compared to just 24.2% and 29.1% in Greater Melbourne.
• The most common language spoken at home other than English is Vietnamese, spoken by 11.9% of the population, followed by Cantonese (3.6%), Greek (2.7%), Mandarin (2.6%), and Italian (2.4%).
• The rate of new settler arrivals is nearly twice the state average, with around 5% being humanitarian settlers.
Disadvantage and social capital
• Median household income is about average, while unemployment rates are above average • Individual weekly income of residents in Maribyrnong compared to Greater Melbourne in 2011 shows
that there was a similar proportion of people earning a high income (those earning $1,500 per week or more) and a higher proportion of low income people (those earning less than $400 per week).
Housing, Homelessness and transport
• 8.5% of dwellings are social housing dwellings, more than double the state average • 75.8% of residents own one or more vehicles which is lower than the Greater Melbourne population
where 84.8% own one or more vehicles. • Rental affordability is well below the Victorian measure and house prices well above, however rates
of mortgage and rental stress are around average.
4.2 Impact on Indoor Sports Court Provision
With the most active age groups of between 25 and 44 years so highly represented, a high level of disadvantage and a high level of cultural diversity, the need for affordable and accessible community facilities that can promote, support and encourage health, sport being physically active and community connectedness are important and will become increasingly so.

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5. Indoor Sports Facilities Review

5.1 Maribyrnong City Council Facilities

A review of indoor stadiums in the City of Maribyrnong has been undertaken. There are 8 indoor sports stadiums in Maribyrnong providing a total of 17 indoor sports courts. There is also one venue exclusively for badminton. Three of the eight facilities are local school facilities, three are owned and/or managed by Victoria University and two are Council owned. Only one of Council’s facilities are suitable for competitions. The other non-Council owned facilities identified as being suitable for competitions, generally offer local groups limited access. None of these give priority to local groups and so have a broad range of external users from both within and outside of Maribyrnong.

There are eight courts that are primarily available and used for local competition. These are Whitten Oval Community Sports Stadium and RecWest Braybrook.

The table below shows current provision of indoor sports facilities in Maribyrnong City.

Table 1 Maribyrnong City Council Indoor Sports Stadium Provision

Facility
Stormers Badminton Centre Braybrook College Gilmore College for Girls Maribyrnong Secondary College Victoria University Community Sports Stadium (Whitten Oval) Footscray Park Aquatic and Fitness Centre Footscray Nicholson Recreation Centre RecWest Braybrook RecWest Footscray Action Indoor Sports

Number of courts 9 1 1 2
4
3 1 4 1 3

Compliant for competition Badminton only
No No Yes
Yes
Yes No Yes No n/a

Use by community clubs* Map Ref

No

1

Yes – but at capacity

2

Yes – limited

3

Yes - limited local access

4

Yes - subject to short notice 5 changes

Yes - limited local access

6

Yes - limited local access

7

Yes

8

Yes

9

No

10

Note: 2 outdoor asphalt netball courts are identified in Maribyrnong. 1 in Braybrook Park, Braybrook & 1 in Rogers Reserve, Maidstone.

The map below indicates facilities that are available for community use.

Figure 2 Map of Maribyrnong Indoor Court Facilities Maribyrnong City Council  Maribyrnong Indoor Sports Stadium Strategy  November 2018

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5.2 Regional Indoor Sports Facility Provision
A review of indoor stadium facility provision in the following neighbouring municipalities has been completed to identify key issue or facility developments that impact facilities in the Maribyrnong area. A total of 35 facilities and 69 courts were identified across five neighbouring municipalities:
• Hobsons Bay City Council - 3 facilities (8 courts) • City of Melbourne - 6 facilities (11 courts) • Moonee Valley City Council - 8 facilities (9 courts) • Brimbank City Council - 10 facilities (17 courts) • Wyndham City Council - 8 facilities (24 courts) Appendix 1 provides a listing of the regional indoor facilities. The map below shows facilities that are available for community use across the region.
Maribyrnong City Council Hobsons Bay City Council City of Melbourne Moonee Valley City Council Brimbank City Council Wyndham City Council

Figure 3 Map of Maribyrnong and Regional Indoor Court Facilities
The review has clearly identified a significant lack of indoor courts within the Maribyrnong area. RecWest Braybrook is the only community multiple court (4 courts) facility available. Both Victoria University and Whitten Oval also have facilities with four courts however community use of these courts is restricted. There are a number of single court facilities located within school facilities. These facilities may not be compliant to current standards and are being used primarily for training activities. The discussions with neighbouring Councils indicate a high demand for additional indoor courts across the region with the Cities of Hume, Melbourne and Moonee Valley all requiring facilities and all considering or currently undertaking strategies to address the unmet demand.

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