Townsvile MP Adam Ballie asks for feedback on Townsville Sports Precinct hall

After evacuees sweated through a few tropical, muggy nights at the Townsville Sports Precinct, one of our city’s leaders has identified what’s missing.

Townsville Sports Precinct

Townsville MP Adam Baillie is urging members of the community to sign a petition to upgrade the facilities at the Townsville Sporting Precinct.

Track and field facilities are used by more than 1,000 athletes, with 15 sporting groups and clubs using the multipurpose indoor courts.

The $14m facility was delivered in 2022 by the former Labor government, after the state was forced to pivot from some elements of the original plan, including a climbing wall, due to construction blow-outs amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

With a limited bucket of money in government, Mr Baillie knows his job is to try to attract as much of that investment to Townsville as possible.

“This is one of those opportunities that has been presented to me by people in the community, but I’m trying to understand if it’s something that’s really required,” he said.

“I see that it would be worthwhile, but if it’s something the community’s interested in, I’d hope they would be interested enough to sign a petition and help me get some numbers around it to further my business case.”

Mr Baillie said he understood the facility was built with little consultation with sporting groups and the public, which was why it was not fit for purpose.

“That’s why things like petitions are important, we need to understand what the community wants to see and what they support and this is one way to try and get some data around that consultation,” he said.

“I think the best way to find out what the public wants us to do is to ask them and that’s what this is.”

The sports precinct also houses events such as the Questacon Science Centre Expo, craft, fashion and wellbeing events.

It also doubled as an emergency evacuation centre during the February floods.

Mr Baillie visited the evacuees during that time and noticed issues when the facility was acting as an emergency evacuation point.

“When they were evacuated in that facility overnight it wasn’t as hot, but it was humid and muggy obviously and there was a lot of noise from the fans trying to get air flow,” he said.

“If we’re going to use this facility as an emergency evacuation centre and people are sleeping in it, airconditioning is going to help that be a whole lot more comfortable for people and be more appropriate.”

Upgrading the amenities at the sporting precinct means they can be used all year round, and can benefit athletes preparing for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“The para-athletes, some do struggle with temperature regulation, so airconditioning is essential for those athletes,” Mr Baillie said.

“So it opens up this facility for use in the Paralympics and in training for that event.”

You can sign the petition here.

Originally published as Townsvile MP Adam Ballie asks for feedback on Townsville Sports Precinct hall