Westgate Basketball Association back McIvor Reserve masterplan

Basketball clubs could lose young superstars unless a polarising Yarraville indoor stadium is built but the family of a former Footscray mayor says it will ruin his legacy.

An artist's impression of the McIvor Reserve masterplan. Picture: Supplied

Inner-west basketball clubs could lose the next generation of young stars unless a controversial Yarraville indoor stadium against the wishes of the family of a former Footscray mayor say it will ruin his legacy.

Westgate Basketball Association is concerned that unless the indoor stadium at McIvor Reserve comes to fruition, they will lose player.

Westgate runs its basketball competitions out of Braybrook and Whitten Oval in Footscray and some local school courts, and says the courts are packed and teams are maxed out with players as the association struggles to find spots to accommodate growing demand.

“I’ve got letters from parents despondent that they cannot find a club, clubs are full,” Westgate president Jules Griffith said.

“Without additional training facilities, facilities to play, we’re capped out … we don’t want kids to play at 10pm on a Saturday, it’s not feasible.”

The McIvor Reserve masterplan was created after Maribyrnong City Council identified a need for an additional 12 to 20 courts by 2036.

Friends of McIvor Reserve believe the stadium should be built on a brown site because the municipality has one of the lowest green space ratios per capita of any inner Melbourne council.

Westgate Basketball Association is struggling to find spots for its juniors, like the Imperials, to play basketball. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“(McIvor Reserve) is a sports precinct, there is no doubt about it … it is a no-brainer and set up for that kind of use, it is ready to go and there is no other option in this part of the municipality,” Mr Griffith said.

“We’re at risk if one day anything happened to Whitten Oval or those facilities deteriorated … if anything like that happens, we’d have to contract.”

However, the family of a prominent former Footscray councillor fear his legacy will be destroyed if the proposed plan goes ahead.

Hector McIvor was a longtime councillor and mayor for Footscray City Council and was a key factor behind the park’s construction.

Mr McIvor had the park built under his plans for the “beautification” of the Footscray area. Mr McIvor negotiated for the land to be purchased from Sir William Angliss for $44,000 and converted it into a park for residents to enjoy.

Mr McIvor’s granddaughter, Jacqui Preston, said the proposed changes were

disappointing.

“(The reserve) makes me proud because it is my grandpa and he was my favourite person in the whole world but it is a very proud thing for us,” she said,

“It was his legacy, that reserve, he was really proud of lots of things he did in the west but that was his legacy that he left behind.

“Now they’re wanting to take the land away from the people … once you lose land, you can never get it back, once you lose open space, you can never get it back.”

A decision on the proposed stadium is expected at the next council meeting on March 21.