Lauren Jackson Sports Centre Upgrade

About this project

The Lauren Jackson Sports Centre is recognised as one of Southern NSW’s major indoor multi-sport facility, attracting more than 120,000 users each year, being a significant venue for community sport and major events.

With continued growth of Albury as the hub of the region and to ensure the centre meets the needs of both community and high-level sports events, a major upgrade is required as guided by the 2018 Master Plan for the venue.

Built in 1984, the five-court, multi-sport facility is one of the largest in the region, hosting community and social sport along with local, state and national sporting events, and is home to the Border Bandits who play in the NBL1 basketball competition.

Extensive community engagement has guided the development of current plans for the upgrade of the centre with a Master Plan for the facility endorsed by Albury City Council in 2018.

Implemented over two stages, the aims of the Master Plan are to:

• Meet the needs of the regional community
• Generate increased physical activity within the regional community
• Meet the needs of regional, state and national sports events
• Comply with safety guidelines of sporting bodies

Stage 1 

Stage 1 will deliver increased active participation opportunities with a gender-equal design including family friendly features, enhanced spectator capacity and multipurpose community meeting spaces. Capacity to host large scale tournaments and events will be enhanced, bringing significant economic benefit to the region.

Deliverables include:

• New playing surface and compliant courts
• 2 Changerooms
• 2 Family rooms
• First aid room
• Dedicated Referee room
• Increased show court seating capacity from 1000 to 1400
• A new meeting room and corporate space
• Tournament hosting space

Key milestones that have been achieved for this project include:

• Finalisation of detailed architectural designs
• All construction documentation
• Development consent issued

Stage 1 construction aims to begin mid-2024 pending tender submissions. During the works we anticipate having two courts available at all times.

• Location: East Albury
• Project Cost: Stage 1 - $12.6M (AlburyCity contribution $7.6M)
• Project Status: Stage 1 - Shovel Ready

Stage 2

Stage 2 proposes to expand the facility to the east and include, but not be limited to:

• Addition of at least 3 more multipurpose courts to cater to the demand of a growing population
• A major show-court, seating up to 3,000 spectators
• A new entry, foyer, café, and corporate facilities
• Further entertainment, conference and exhibition opportunities will complement developments in the city
• Regional aquatic facility components including 50m program and hydrotherapy pools, leisure water components, gym, group fitness and allied health options.

Council has endorsed a Feasibility and Business Case to Master Plan the redevelopment, which will go out to the community for further feedback. The significant capital cost of the proposed upgrades will require development of a funding strategy, with the project likely to be delivered over multiple stages.

Consultation for Stage 2 will continue with stakeholders including our community, national, state and community sport user groups and PCYC to ensure the development of one of regional Australia’s prominent destination for indoor sporting content.

A copy of the Lauren Jackson Sports Centre Stage 2 Feasibility Study can be found by selecting the below button.

LJSC S2 Feasibility Study