New fee structure a win for Warrnambool sporting clubs

The council on Monday night unanimously voted to ditch a per player fee and replace it with a court hire charge at Warrnambool Stadium, delivering significant savings.

Under the agreement, instead of senior players being charged $10.80 a game and $2 of that being directed to the user group, sports will be charged $40 an hour per court.

Warrnambool Basketball Incorporated, which has been forced to use other courts at school stadiums across the city because of growing numbers, is pleased with the outcome.

Seahawks and Mermaids president Jacob Sobey said the club had used other stadiums in the city in the past in a bid to save money.

The new structure will see sporting associations charged a flat rate of $40 per hour.

"That's a significant price drop," Mr Sobey said.

"I think previously it was $50 or $55 an hour, which at times was not very cost effective."

Mr Sobey said the association had used other stadiums and had agreements in place to host school clinics.

Under the new structure, clubs will no longer have to pay a fee to utilise the stadium's commercial kitchen.

"It will depend on what agreements we have with other stadiums, but hopefully we will use The Arc a bit more," Mr Sobey said.

He said the association had spoken about using other facilities on a more permanent basis.

"We've had discussions at a board level on using outside courts in schools," Mr Sobey said.

"However, the problem is you don't have enough courts in the one building."

Mr Sobey said the association would lobby for improved basketball facilities.

"In the long-term we would be looking at extending out The Arc," he said.

Mr Sobey said the three main courts made it difficult to hold week night competitions.

"We're struggling as a club right now to put games on the court, even domestically," he said.

"We're playing games right up until 10pm at night, which people don't really want to do."

Mr Sobey said additional courts would allow the association to grow.

"We would welcome any growth opportunities out there but we don't want that to result in the fees going up," he said.

Councillor Debbie Arnott said she believed the new fee model was fairer for all clubs.

"This is changing the structure of the fees to a licence model," Cr Arnott said.

Cr Ben Blain said he also supported the new model.

"This will result in lower fees for the clubs and it should result in more equity amongst all the sports out there at the stadium," he said.

Cr Blain said the council would save money on administration costs by not having to calculate and pay the rebates.

"Hopefully it will have a really positive impact on the viability of all clubs.

"Even with the small cost to council I don't believe that should be holding us back from encouraging more people to use our stadium."

Cr Max Taylor said he also supported the new structure.

He said the current model was inefficient and made it difficult for clubs to remain sustainable.

The council's report on the new model shows the $40 per hour fee is comparable to other regional stadiums, with Albury charging a $38 off-peak rate and $58 peak court hire rate per hour, while Sale charges $36 for off-peak and $50 an hour during peak times.

The new fees will be implemented in January 2022.

Mayor Richard Ziegeler said he supported the motion.

He said he hoped it would encourage more people to use the stadium to play a range of sports.

The report presented to councillors on Monday night did not include a specific cost to the council under the new structure.

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