Two years worth of refurbishment work to be squeezed into 12 months to have DEC NBL ready

The NBL boss aims to have works on the Derwent Entertainment Centre underway as soon as possible to have the multimillion-dollar facelift ready for 2021-22 season.

REDEVELOPMENT work on the DEC is expected to start within 60 days as the race begins to have the multimillion-dollar upgrade ready to host the NBL pre-season Blitz next year.

Having finally ticked off on the details that will see the State Government spend $68.5 million to bring the venue up to world-class standard — in return for the 10th NBL licence from league boss Larry Kestelman — attention now turns to completing the required consultant work.

SEARCH FOR TASMANIAN NBL CHIEF BEGINS

An artist’s impression of an upgraded Derwent Entertainment Centre.

Despite admitting he is squeezing two years of work into a 12-month time frame, Mr Kestelman is confident the DEC will be ready not only for Tasmania’s re-entry into the competition in 2021-22, but also to potentially again hold the pre-season tournament.

The NBL brought last season’s Blitz to Tasmania, hailing the four-day event a resounding success and confirming the state’s desire for its own team.

Brad Newley of the Sydney Kings drives to the basket during the NBL Blitz pre-season match between Perth Wildcats and Sydney Kings at Derwent Entertainment Centre on September 22 last year. Picture: Steve Bell/Getty

“We’ve probably got about 60 days’ worth of consultant work and then we will need to be on site, I would say expect to start in the next 60 days on site,” Mr Kestelman said.

“We have to be playing basketball in October, which is the launch of the season, but I’m hoping, and we haven’t had this conversation, but I’m hoping as part of the launch of the team the pre-season tournament will be in Tassie the following year.

“Two years of work that we need to get done in one, no pressure.

“The good news is even back in February and March we were doing a lot of preparation before COVID hit, so we have had a lot of work already done with analysing what needs to be done with the DEC.”

An artist’s impression of an upgraded Derwent Entertainment Centre.

As talks were parked during the coronavirus outbreak, Mr Kestelman conceded he feared the landmark day for the sport earlier in the year may not eventuate with such a tight deadline.

“There was definitely fear of that … if we couldn’t get this done now we would have to abandon it at least for a year, and then you never know.

“We have had interest for licences from other places, once you put things on ice for a year you don’t know what will happen, so I’m glad we got that across the line.”