The Keilor Basketball Association believes its $300,000 annual licence fee to use the revamped Keilor Basketball and Netball Stadium is far too high and that it deserves a better deal from the incoming Brimbank council.
KBA president Robert Dierickx said the association now paid about $300,000 a year under a licence agreement with the council.
The KBA also contributed $1.2 million to the recent stadium extension, which was funded partially by an interest-free $500,000 loan from council. The council has extended the association’s licence from five years to 10.
“No other sport in the area is contributing anywhere near the same extent,” Dierickx said.
“We are, after all, a not-for-profit organisation delivering a widely beneficial community service for girls, boys, women and men.
“KBA is a major contributor [to the stadium extension]. [We] should have been granted more concessions in the agreement that accompanied the build and sees the association placed in the venue until 2025. We admit to being successful in our endeavours, but it seems that this success could see this sport treated more like a commercial profit-seeking enterprise rather than one that has been forged on the considerable and selfless contributions of volunteers to the greater benefit of the community and its youth.
“We’re aware that several other councils give far more favourable deals to their basketball associations.”
Dierickx said the KBA should be paying only $20,000 each year for a licence. “During licence negotiations, council insisted that their asset and fee calculations for sporting facilities do not apply to us,” he said. “If an A-grade oval is $1000 per year [to use under the council’s sports facility hire policy] then we should pay $1000 per court. That would add up to $26,000.
“Of course we recognise there are additional costs involved in maintaining a stadium, but not sufficient to warrant such a differential.”
Dierickx said the KBA would only consider as a last resort a liquor license, and even a possible bistro and poker machine set-up at the stadium, as a way of raising profits.
Brimbank council is currently in caretaker mode and was unable to comment.
