Toowoomba’s Clive Berghofer Arena expansion proposed by St Mary’s Old Boys, plans to be lodged with council

A proposed expansion of a major Toowoomba facility would make it the home of multiple burgeoning sports and also an ideal training base for visiting nations at the 2032 Olympics.

An $18m expansion of the Clive Berghofer Arena would not only make it the home of multiple sports like basketball and squash but also bring major championships and act as training facilities for future Olympic teams.

That’s the dream for the St Mary’s Old Boys Association, which is set to lodge an application with the Toowoomba Regional Council for a massive upgrade of the Herries Street facility, next door to the all-boys school.

The plans, designed by Aspect Architecture, would see the arena expanded to the east and include three new multisport courts for basketball, netball, futsal, badminton, volleyball and potentially pickleball.

Excited for the expansion of the Clive Berghofer Arena along Herries Street are (from left) St Mary's Old Boys representative Jeremy Cotter, Toowoomba Basketball Association president Jamie Biggar, St Mary's College deputy principal Samantha Parle and Squash Queensland CEO Shantel Netzler.

With the Toowoomba Basketball Association signing a partnership to make Clive Berghofer Arena its permanent home, a total of five courts with seating for potentially up to 400 people would allow the Garden City to bid for lucrative state and national championships.

TBA president Jamie Biggar said basketball facilities were already at capacity, with the expansion able to facilitate the sports explosive growth.

“This year we’ve hit 1600 members playing basketball every week, some of them playing multiple times a week,” he said.

“Basketball in Queensland has had double-digit growth for the past three years (and) we’ve been on the hunt for quite a while for facilities that we believe we’ll desperately need in the next couple of years.

“The biggest thing holding us back as an association is court space – you can’t get enough court space to put enough games on.

“The expansion would give us the option of having five courts in one facility (and) eight courts within walking distance (including Glennie School’s facilities), which will mean we can advertise for state championships.”

Conceptual designs for the expanded Clive Berghofer Arena by the St Mary's Old Boys.

The arena would also become the new home of squash in Toowoomba, with six new courts planned for the basement level, along with two cricket nets.

It comes just weeks after the Toowoomba squash courts were closed on James Street, ahead of a demolition to make way for a new Officeworks.

Squash Queensland chief executive Shantel Netzler said her sport was not only primed for junior growth ahead of the 2032 Olympics but could also fit in alongside other sports.

Conceptual designs for the expanded Clive Berghofer Arena by the St Mary's Old Boys.

“(After) losing the Toowoomba Squash Club recently, this is a really good opportunity to re-established our home base here,” she said.

“With pathways, we’re trying to strengthen them in the lead up to both LA 2028 and Brisbane in 2032.

“This will give us an opportunity for kids to try the sport, because there’s a whole generation who have never been introduced to it.

“Squash is a good multidisciplinary sport, it supplements what you might already do — it adds value to other sports.”

Excited for the expansion of the Clive Berghofer Arena along Herries Street are St Mary's College deputy principal Samantha Parle and St Mary's Old Boys representative Jeremy Cotter.

The project has been the culmination of 20 years’ work for the St Mary’s Old Boys, after the original arena was opened in 2004.

He said along with meeting the capacity needs and junior pathway opportunities for the various sports, the expansion could entice visiting nations at the 2032 Olympic Games to use Toowoomba as a training base.

“What we’re trying to do is have a facility like Toowoomba Hockey where multiple sports and clubs are under one roof,” Mr Cotter said.

“It makes Toowoomba and attractive training base ahead of the Olympics.”

Mr Cotter said the expansion would need external funding to support its construction, calling it an opportunity for local, state and federal governments to jump on board.

“On current estimates are we could possibly borrow up to $2m, so we’re looking at funding arrangements,” he said.

“Our advice is the project needs to be dig-ready (hence the DA), if we have this ready to dig we can position ourselves to use it as an election promise.”

Excited for the expansion of the Clive Berghofer Arena along Herries Street are (from left) Squash Queensland CEO Shantel Netzler, Toowoomba Basketball Association president Jamie Biggar, St Mary's College deputy principal Samantha Parle and St Mary's Old Boys representative Jeremy Cotter.

St Mary’s deputy principal Samantha Parle said the project would cement the school as the home of basketball in Toowoomba, and further foster its position as a sporting powerhouse.

“There’s been quite a lot of consultation around what the school needs are and tying it with what basketball is wanting as well,” she said.

“Friday night basketball is a big thing in our calendar and it’s a thing the boys aspire to, so there’s quite a lot of hope attached to the Old Boys’ project.”