Share deal for courts on offer
Basketballers’ new agreement for Glen Eira venue
Nicole Precel
TWO basketball teams could share court time at a new sports facility in Glen Eira after a long-running fight over usage. The Warriors and McKinnon Basketball Association both want to call the new Glen Eira Sports and Aquatic Centre home. Glen Eira City Council Mayor Jamie Hyams said the Warriors— who won a bid to use the GESAC basketball courts — have agreed to share the courts with the McKinnon Basketball Association. ‘‘What’s happened is we have these fantastic new basketball courts being built, we did an expression of interest process through our officers and allocated to a group called the Warriors,’’ Cr Hyams said.
Last month, the council passed a motion that said McKinnon could have access to the courts on Saturdays from 8am to 11pm provided they found the Warriors two alternate courts from 8am to 7pm. ‘‘We think it’s in McKinnon’s interest to take up this opportunity,’’ he said. This comes after McKinnon petitioned to use the courts, mediation in November between the associations and on December 7.
Warriors president Geoff Charnley said he wanted it to work for everybody, but was waiting to hear back from McKinnon.
‘‘They have until January 15; if they do nothing, we get Friday, Saturday and Sunday,’’ Mr Charnley said.
McKinnon Basketball Association president Eric Hollingsworth said they had accepted on the condition that they could negotiate out of current leases with schools and that the Warriors were acceptable tenants.
‘‘It is obvious we can fill the court space comfortably, even with GESAC, MBA needs to continue with its other facilities,’’ he said.
The MBA will juggle almost 2000 players and 258 teams.
Glen Eira Debates 
January 4, 2012 at 11:48 AM
Good to know that Hyams thinks that holding negotiations with a gun to one’s head is in the “best interests” of locals. The tone of Charnley’s alleged response is far from encouraging either. The whole affair is an indictment on this council and its responsibilities to serve the interests of locals.
January 4, 2012 at 2:40 PM
Considering the Warriors have been establsihed and operating from the City of Glen Eira since 1995 don’t they qualify as locals as well?
Fact is all Associations recruit members from both wintin and from outside city boundaries. McKinnon is a classic example with nearly fifty percent of their clubs/teams based outside the boundaries of the City of Glen Eira.
The continued comment about servicing locals is a red herring in this whole discussion. Does anybody seriously beleived that once opened people from surrounding areas to GESAC won’t play and participate at GESAC? Of course they will, so locals will get serviced.
January 4, 2012 at 5:46 PM
The whole mess isn’t about whether people from outside will eventually use the facility, rather, it’s what the initial priorities should have been. Glen Eira ratepayers are basically funding this. They should therefore be given preference from the start. Johnny come lately needed to come second. When all a council is interested in is making money then that says two things – either they’ve neglected their residents to start off with, or their initial planning was all wrong. In this case, I think both things have happened. Locals weren’t considered and the operational business plans were and are sub standard. Lastly, but most importantly, what’s also pretty obvious to me is that these councillors leave too much in the hands of people who have no business skills in running anything.The final decision is nothing more than an attempt to cover up all the mistakes that have happened along the way and possibly the silly fear that a group like Warriors would even contemplate suing a council. That suggestion has got as much track as Lobo becoming mayor. Everything has been a cover up from start to finish.
January 4, 2012 at 8:42 PM
Yes Colin, everything surrounding this is obviously a cover up and a total conspiracy, that’s why details of both groups submissions were placed on the GE council website for all to see, right?
I am so over the misleading nonsense that gets said on this site about this issue.
Firstly you say GE ratepayers are funding this, not entirely true as much of the funding came from both State and Federal funding.
Secondly you call the Warriors Johnny come lately, are you aware they have been in existence in Glen Eira as long as McKinnon have been?
Hardly a Johnny come lately.
Before you ask I have kids playing at McKinnon and have been following this whole process closely. What I have done that many such as yourself haven’t done is gotten both sides of the story and looked into the facts of the issue.
As a Glen Eira ratepayer and with kids at McKinnon I am disappointed McKinnon missed out on the EOI decision, however looking further into things the more I realise this is simply a case of one group putting in a much superior bid. That’s how things work and how they should. So as a ratepayer I am comfortable that council officers took into consideration a bid that is close to being $100,000 per annum superior to the other.
I am also flabbergasted that McKinnon didn’t apply for all hours available. To me the council had no choice and the only thing I am surprised at is that a few certain councillors have been trying to overturn this thing for so long. They should never have interfered
In fact the more I look into this, the more the blame lies with the McKinnon management and nobody else.
Good Luck to the Warriors as they have put in a better bid, plain and simple and in that bid have committed to servicing locals.
Get the facts straight and place the blame where it rightly belongs.
January 4, 2012 at 10:52 PM
Several things you’ve stated need correction; (1) what you refer to as “details” of both submissions being placed on council’s website is incorrect. What has been made public is Paul Burke’s “report” not the actual submissions. There has also been published on Glen Eira Debates the McKinnon Basketball Association’s letter and the claim that they were told to lever back some of their original offers. (2) You also claim that “much of the funding” comes from State and Federal governments. My tally is 12.5 million – that is hardly “much” when the cost we’re looking at is around at least 50 million. Ratepayers are covering costs and will continue to do so for the next 15 years with interest repayments and running costs. (3) How Superior” the bid from the warriors was would depend largely on what they were told and the criteria that the community thinks is most important. Unfortunately when left in the hands of pen pushers these values were lost.
The question of giving locals first priority is not only restricted to basketball. It would make for intriguing reading if this council had the guts to publish the numbers of members of teams (soccer, baseball, etc) who reside outside of Glen Eira and then see how many local teams are sold down the river in the chase after the allmighty dollar. Since you’re obviously in the know, how about publishing the numbers of your group whose postcodes are outside of the area and then let’s compare them with the McKinnon lot? That would be fair don’t you think and certainly settle the argument.
January 4, 2012 at 10:53 PM
…..the Warriors, who were originally ‘Garden State Warriors’, then proudly became the ‘Oakleigh Warriors’ (and still are), have changed their name to ‘Glen Eira Warriors’ for the move to GESAC. They won the bid on the back of a lot of promises and a bag full of dollars.
For a Club with more Representative teams than domestic it will mean plenty of training time….if they can afford it!
Officers were wrong and Council has made a poor decision in holding McKinnon to ransom for use of the complex.
Let’s just give it to Warriors and see how their marketing plan works.
January 4, 2012 at 5:29 PM
Well these facts annoy me greatly, why on earth do we put so much energy money and open space resources into people that are not ratepayer.
With such a lack of open space in Glen Eira I would like to see some football ovals turned back in parks, for people that actually live in Glen Eira can use and enjoy. Instead of walking my dog on a boring stupid football oval.
Regular people are dismissed in Glen Eira, and the few sporting types get most of the room and most of the money.
Who thinks this is OK?
January 4, 2012 at 9:44 PM
“And that the Warriors were acceptable tenants” This person has something jammed up his you know where.The hide of this individual is an indictment on these pathetic Councillors and just proves that the Officers made the correct decision. Hyams is just plain p-s we-k in blaming Officers for making a Financially Responsible decision that benifits the vast majority of Ratepayers who will pay for GESAC, but never use it.These Councillors are pathetic.
January 5, 2012 at 1:22 AM
WHO KNOWS THE ADMINISTRATION IS BEHAAVING IN SUVCH A STRANGE WAY… PERHAPS THE FACILITY WILL NOT BE FINISHED UNTILTHIS MATTER IS SETTLED.
When arguments in favour of gESAC wanted it in the Oakleigh corner did the Warriors collect thoasands of signatures too.
And additionaly councillors and officers would not take notice of me with fifteen years of basketball/parking experience regARDING CAR PARKING NEEDSA SO HOW COULD THEY NARROW DOWN THE LEASE TO ONE OF TWO TENANT GROUPS FOR THE BASKETBALL CENTRE???\HOW WOULD IT BE HAD THIS NEW WHITE ELEPHANT WITH A YELLOW TRUNK HAD BEEN COMPLETED WOULD WE ALL BE ATANDING BY HELPLESSLY AS THIS DISPUTE RAGES???
January 5, 2012 at 4:03 PM
No need to yell. (by using upper case) Toen it done mate. People don’t take loudtalking bloggers seriously.