AS a one-team town, NBL1 general manager Dean Anglin and Pioneers president Tom Kosch believe Mount Gambier will maintain its reputation as a “fortress” as the club looks to move into the Community and Recreation Hub in the future.
The $39.1m sport and recreation centre will be home to Mount Gambier’s basketball community once completed, with work set to begin in early 2020.
The centre’s show court will have 1300 ground floor seats with an additional 150 upstairs, which is over 500 more than the Icehouse.
Although this means the possibility of more empty seats on game night, Mr Anglin said the city had the capacity and passion to fill the stadium.
“I was the CEO of Geelong Supercats and I was here and this place is hostile on game night,” he said.
“The crowd is hostile – and I do not say that in a negative way at all – it is an outstanding advantage the club has and makes for a pretty amazing atmosphere.
“We know Mount Gambier is passionate about its Pioneers – we have especially seen that passion over the past 12 months or so.
“I think for the club it is about harnessing that passion that exists at the Icehouse and replicating it in a new stadium.”
Mr Kosch said he was confident the community would rally behind the team when it relocates to the new centre.
“In the past 12 months we have had the women’s team added to the club which has brought on a new group of spectators,” he said.
“I think there will definitely be enough supporters each week to comfortably fill out stands.
“It is not often you come to the Icehouse and there are many spare seats, so I think the extra capacity for spectators just gives the club room to grow our supporters.”
Mr Anglin said fan experience was a key priority for the NBL1, with games starting “in the carpark”.
“We really want fans to have that entire experience from the moment they get to the stadium,” he said.
“It is something we put a big focus on, so that is something we expect teams to really push.
“The club will now have to put its focus on, to what they want to implement to get to that standard at the new facility.”
With strict specifications to make the new facility compliant with NBL1 regulations, Mount Gambier Mayor Lynette Martin said council kept national standards in mind during the planning stages.
“We want to provide a state of the art venue for all sports, including basketball,” she said.
“So we did put an emphasis on making sure it would be fully compliant to host sport of this calibre.
“The show court will have NBL standard flooring and enhanced lighting with the entire stadium at or above NBL standard.”
Ms Martin said in addition to making the facility a high standard for teams and officials, it was important to keep the same level for spectators.
“This high standard of competition brings a larger demographic to our region,” she said.
“We want the facility to really showcase our region – with teams coming from far and wide, it is important to give that high quality here.
“It was always a priority to deliver on the project and we are looking forward to seeing the Pioneers out on the court in the NBL1 once the facility is completed.”
