Community
4 June, 2026
Long-awaited upgrade secured
THE next generation of Terang’s on-court athletes are set to benefit from a $280,000 upgrade which has been six years in the making.
Corangamite Shire Council last week unveiled the Terang Stadium Upgrade Works as having received dollar-for-dollar funding in the 2026 Corangamite Shire Draft Budget.
Terang and District Indoor Sport and Recreation Centre facility manager Kelly Mullen said the funding would see the flooring and grandstands upgraded to accommodate the community’s booming basketball presence.
“I originally approached the shire around six years ago with all the upgrades I wanted to do within the facility,” she said.
“The stadium is around 35 years old now so I presented them with all the things which needed to be done.
“The roof was done in 2021 and we staggered the amenities upgrade, doing the female section in 2022 and the accessible and the men’s upgrades in 2024.
“We got the funding to do the basketball rims last year, and we’ve now got $140,000 from the shire to finish off the last piece – the complete reseal of the floor and new spectator seating.”
Ms Mullen said the Corangamite Shire Council had been a big supporter of the vision to modernise the stadium.
“The shire has always been so supportive but we’ve been very proactive in raising the money, going almost dollar-for-dollar in projects, so we’ve got a really good relationship with the shire,” she said.
“They see we’re always wanting to get the facility in a place where it reflects how important this asset is to the community.
“It’s been a long time in the works, but it’ll be good to see that hard work pay off.”
Ms Mullen said the stadium had seen a surge in usage over the years, with both men and women’s senior competitions on a Monday night and junior competitions on Friday night which has around 220 kids participating this season.
“Basketball is huge in the community,” she said.
“We have our squad program with teams from Under 12 to Under 18, including two Under 12 girls’ representative teams, so we’re looking at probably 80 kids participating in the squad program.
“Then in the Country Basketball League (CBL) we had the success last year of the Terang Tornadoes making the Grand Final.
“This year we’re hoping to be able to get a women’s CBL team, which I think having success in the men’s has ignited a little bit of interest in the women’s game.”
Ms Mullen said she hopes works can begin later this year, pending the funding being finalised in the 2026-2027 Corangamite Shire Budget and trades being secured.
“We’re really hoping we can get it done over the summer,” she said.
“The domestic competition and CBL are both finished around the first week of December, so I’m really hoping to be able to line up the trades so we can start to head into the new seasons in 2027 with all the upgrades done.”
Ms Mullen said the ongoing ability to match funding dollar-for-dollar highlighted the importance of the stadium to the community and its viability, which has led to the confidence in already pre-planning for what could come next.
“This project has been a priority but we’ve already started forward planning,” she said.
“We want to do an extension of the fitness centre so we’ve already started pre-planning.
“Once this is done, we’re already looking to the future to better the whole facility.
“It is a unique facility where we have the fitness centre which is well supported by the community, community groups and user groups which allows us to put money back in.”
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