A community backlash has forced Wollongong City Council to put on hold plans to provide a new training facility at Beaton Park for the Illawarra Hawks at the expense of community sporting groups.

The Ted Tobin Hall, within the Beaton Park Leisure Centre, is used by hundreds of people each week and plays host to badminton, table tennis, gym classes and pickleball.

As the previous Council was in its final weeks, and with no consultation with affected sporting groups, Council entered into negotiations with the Illawarra Hawks that would see community sport effectively locked out of Ted Tobin Hall, so the Illawarra Hawks could take over and establish a new permanent training facility. The Illawarra Flame understands the Hawks would also take over the sports medicine facility within Beaton Park.

Eric Bradley, the secretary of the Illawarra Badminton Association, said in mid-August he attended a meeting with senior council officers from sport and recreation during which it was revealed that they were in discussions with the Hawks for them to take over Ted Tobin Hall and install their own floor, replacing the Snakepit as their main training venue.

'Pretty much a done deal'

"That meant all other sports using the space wouldn't be able to play there," Mr Bradley said. He said other sports groups using the facility had similar meetings with Council. "When we came out of those meetings, we each individually gained the impression it was pretty much a done deal. The Hawks would take over Ted Tobin Hall and they'd find us another venue elsewhere. Council is now claiming that this interpretation amounted to 'misinformation' – yet only in the last couple of weeks terms like 'partnership' with the Hawks for them to have 'majority use' of Ted Tobin Hall were still being used."

What happened next shocked the daytime and casual users of Ted Tobin Hall when Council senior management 'block booked' Ted Tobin Hall from 10am to 6pm, seven days a week, effectively locking out anyone from using the space. Staff and management at Beaton Park were given no information about what was happening, resulting in many complaints to Council's head office.

"Casual hirers and user groups couldn't believe Council was evicting the community from a ratepayer-funded facility and gifting it to a professional sporting organisation," Mr Bradley said. 

Community backlash

Then came the backlash from the community. It's understood Council received more than 100 complaints from users of Ted Tobin Hall.

One of them is pickleball player Caroline Hudson and in her letter to the newly elected Ward Two councillors she said: "The Beaton Park sports hall is the only available public indoor sports facility in Wollongong. The expulsion of existing indoor sports from Ted Tobin Hall will be detrimental to the future of community sporting clubs in Wollongong. To hand over community facilities, paid for by ratepayers, to a commercial enterprise, seems to go against everything that the Council stands for."

Ms Hudson said the hall's closure would have happened already but "Council backtracked when word got out and the badminton club complained".

"Initially the hall bookings were cancelled from early October 2024, however, upon an outcry from the sporting clubs involved, concerning the lack of consultation and communication, they were informed that the closure had been pushed back by at least a month."

Council's change of heart

Late last week, an under-fire Council had a change of heart and contacted the sporting groups offering a reprieve of sorts.

"They admitted it was a mistake in the way it was done," Mr Bradley said. "They're now reviewing their decisions and saying if we can't reach an agreement on better facilities for our sports elsewhere it will be business as usual at Ted Tobin Hall."

While welcoming Council's partial about-face, Mr Bradley said it had been a distressing time for the community sporting groups involved. Especially for sports such as badminton, with specific hall/court requirements and few local alternative venues available.

"It's all been handled very poorly. What's unreasonable is the way Council went about it. It was very stealthily done; not even Beaton Park Leisure Centre staff were informed. It wasn't until Council started getting flak that they changed their mind."

Council says no change for now

A statement released by Council late Friday confirmed that, for the time being, no sporting group using the Beaton Park Leisure Centre would be disadvantaged but it still left the door open for changes in the future.

"Right now, basketball is one of the highest growing participation sports for children, young people, and adults in Australia. The local association and the Hawks are both having to operate across multiple venues within the local government area creating a disconnect for families, administrators and participants. Council is investigating options to further support the development of community pathways to elite sport in Wollongong," the Council statement read.

"We are in discussions with regular sporting clubs of Beaton Park facilities, including Ted Tobin Hall, to work towards an outcome where all codes are supported with access to suitable facilities across the local government area. Basketball already has a presence in Ted Tobin Hall, and some opportunities to increase activation, however Council has been clear with all users that it will continue to support and uphold the current regular bookings of Ted Tobin Hall. This information has been shared with representatives of local sporting clubs."

Who was Ted Tobin?

The hall at the centre of the controversy is named after Ted Tobin OAM, who died in 2010, aged 72. He received many accolades for his contribution to Wollongong both as an alderman and leading sports administrator, where he was a champion of community-based sports.

Ted Tobin served 15 years on the Wollongong Showground Trust, 15 years as captain-president of Wollongong Surf Club, and 20 years on the board of the Illawarra Leagues Club. He was a founding chairman of both the Illawarra Academy of Sport and Beaton Park Leisure Centre.

The Illawarra Hawks was contacted for comment.