State Basketball Centre

The Victorian State Government’s $132 million upgrade of the State Basketball Centre in Wantirna South will create one of Australia’s leading basketball facilities and support the continued growth of basketball and gymnastics at local and elite levels. 

The expansion project was originally announced in 2018 with an $83 million contribution from the Victorian Government and $25 million from City of Knox. An additional $22 million was provided in the 2020 – 21 Victorian State Budget bringing the total budget to $130 million. Knox City Council has committed a further $2 million.

The project will deliver:

• 12 new indoor community courts for local basketball competitions for a total of 18 courts
• Comprehensive training facilities for high-performance basketball including WNBL and NBL teams
• New gymnastics facilities
• New administration facilities to support sports organisations and clubs
• An outdoor town square space

The project will also provide new administration areas for Basketball Victoria, Knox Basketball Inc., Deakin Melbourne Boomers (WNBL), South East Melbourne Phoenix (NBL) and Basketball Australia.

The gymnastics centre at the State Basketball Centre will replace the existing facility in Ferntree Gully and address the large waiting lists for training and competition in the region.

The project responds to increasing demand for quality sporting facilities in the Knox area and will service everyone from local players to Australian representative athletes while transforming the broader precinct into the premier sports park for Melbourne’s South East.

Victoria is Australia’s peerless leader in the sport of basketball, with participation numbers the equal of every other state combined and growing at 4% a year on average during the last decade.

Gymnastics is also experiencing substantial growth in Victoria with participation almost tripling during the last decade and over 80% of participants women and girls.

The State Basketball Centre currently welcomes almost 800,000 visitors annually and the project will increase visitation to more than 2 million people a year when complete.

ADCO has been appointed the managing contractor for the redevelopment. Construction began in September-2021 and is anticipated to be completed in late-2023.