Sportsway Ipswich: Mirko, Cathleen Bilic buy Bundamba Skateaway, bowling alley site

Investors have grand plans to revitalise an Ipswich entertainment icon that holds a special place in the hearts of locals, but was hit hard in the 2011 floods.

A young local family has grand plans to revitalise and further develop an iconic Ipswich entertainment venue after finalising a multimillion-dollar deal to buy the site.

Mirko and Cathleen Bilic settled on the sale of the three hectare Bundamba site last week, which includes skating rink Skateaway, an outdoor volleyball court and a ten pin bowling alley which has been abandoned since it was inundated in the 2011 floods.

The Sportsway rink was opened by John Green in 1979 and it got back up and running after the devastating floods.

The building which used to house Ipswich Tenpin has sat empty since the 2011 floods.

The building which used to house the bowling alley has been vacant for a decade but the Quicksand Rebound Volleyball facility is used regularly and in good numbers.

Mr Bilic, 33, said work had already started to clean up the rundown facilities with plans to return it to its former glory and create a sport and recreation hub to draw in families from around southeast Queensland.

The former Ipswich Tenpin building is at the top of the list to get it fit for a new tenant to come in.

The couple has renamed the precinct as Sportsway.

“It’s a massive property so there’s plenty of room to expand and keep growing,” Mr Bilic said.

“There’s so many options. It’s not a blank canvas but we can do anything really.

“We want to build the property up and have it thriving better than it was in the 90s.

“A place for people in Ipswich, Toowoomba and Springfield to bring their kids on weekends and school holidays with a number of activity options.

“There’s a vacancy there so there’s an opportunity for someone else to move in.

“We need the right business down there. It will be a facility that will be fun for the whole family to come here.”

The Bilics, who both have fond memories of the place from their childhood, said they stumbled across it while searching for properties in the area to invest in.

The land is zoned for local business, industry and sports and recreation and its location next to a Bunnings warehouse and train station and just a short drive to the hugely popular Costco set off light bulbs.

Mr Bilic is an electrician by trade with an industrial crane maintenance business and has lived in the city since he was five-years-old.

“We will clean it up and then move on and develop it,” Mr Bilic said.

“A big drawcard for the property was there was so much potential. That’s what we’ve seen – the potential.

The three hectare site is zoned for local business, industry and sports and recreation.

“It’s definitely a risk. We ran through so many scenarios and the potential and the opportunity that is in this place (was too hard to turn down).

“People come to Costco from Toowoomba on the weekends. We want to make it so it’s big enough and good enough so they’ll go for a shop and come here.

“Mid to long term we want to go pretty big with it and get it back up to the condition it should be, with some future development too.

“We’ve got a big list of ideas we’ve been bouncing around. Probably 20 or 30 options. There’s so many different possibilities we could put in there.”

Mrs Bilic said there had been plenty of talk over the past several years about the bowling alley returning.

An eight-lane bowling alley was opened at iPlay in Riverlink Shopping Centre in 2019.

“That could be an option,” she said.

“(The volleyball facility and Skateaway are) still leased and have their own owners for the businesses.

“Between Toowoomba and Ipswich there’s not really anywhere for people to take their kids, either on the weekends, after school or on the holidays.

“You either need to travel to Brisbane or the Gold Coast.

Skateaway reopened after the 2011 floods but the buildings on the site have been targeted by vandals and thieves.

“(It’s the aim to) make this place somewhere not only Ipswich people can bring their kids but people from Toowoomba and the Gold Coast and Brisbane can also bring their kids.

“We want to transform it into its former glory in the 90s and the 80s. Every single person in Ipswich can remember being here or spending their childhood here or their early adult years here and we basically want to turn it back into that.

“It won’t be just for kids but kids and adults. Potentially we might be developing and putting in new structures, but we will be fixing the structures that are here.”

House Property Agents Booval commercial sales and leasing agent Rob Lindsay, who handled the sale, said he had had plenty of interest from potential tenants.

“I’ve had really good interest from end users due to its sport and recreation and business use classification,” he said.

“What’s unique about this site is it’s classified as sport, recreation and local industry.

“It can be used for a whole range of different things in that little pocket.

“There’s a long road to get it where it needs to be and offer Ipswich another new exciting entertainment venue.

“We’re open to various end users.

“It is possible to even build a stadium on the site. You can put in a sport club, a bar or a cafe, a really broad range of uses, all subject to council approval.

“It’s a landmark to the Ipswich community. It’s been absolutely amazing to learn how much it means to people.”

The property last sold for $3.18 million in 2004.

If you are interested in the site contact Rob Lindsay on [e-mail] or 0431 633 126.

Read more stories by Lachlan McIvor here.