While plans for stage one of the Dubbo Sporting Hub have been submitted, there is a level of excitement building for when the facility finally opens.
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Dubbo Basketball's Claire Bynon has been patiently waiting since November 2019 for the sporting hub to get off the ground.
Now, the sporting hub is currently awaiting approval from Dubbo Regional Council but Bynon is already excited to see what happens.
"It's very surreal, I'll believe it when I see it," she said.
"We had the big launch then three years later nothing has happened. You do get very deflated by it all."
Bynon admitted she has been in regular contact with Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders to see how the sporting hub has been progressing with Dubbo Basketball set to use the facility once it opens.
"I actually got a call from Dugald Saunders and didn't answer it because I thought it was someone pulling my leg so I let it go to message bank," she said.
"Turns out it was him and I thought it was a bit odd so I rang him back.
"He just wanted to tell me that it was actually happening and how excited he was.
"It was just really lovely and had a personal touch that he really did care that we'd been waiting for so long.
"It has been a very long and hard battle but we are so so excited it's up and going."
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Bynon knows the facility will not just benefit Dubbo Basketball but the sport as a whole in the region.
"Basketball could be huge out here," she said.
"But we don't have the facilities to grow it. This year we've got 21 athletes who have been selected in the WRAS basketball program.
"That for us is huge. They are the biggest numbers that we've ever had.
"We've got three under 14s kids who have been selected to play in D-League which is the best 40 kids from metro and country that they throw together in Sydney for a two-day tournament.
"Our kids have got the talent, they've got the skill we just need the facilities."
Dubbo Basketball is currently based at Dubbo Sportsworld but is unable to use the courts over the course of a weekend due to Inflatable World.
While the sporting hub will be used for local basketball games during the week, Bynon knows the state-of-the-art facility will help attract big tournaments to Dubbo going forward.
"The things that we will be able to bring to Dubbo," she said.
"The things we could do with NSW Basketball and Basketball Australia would be phenomenal."
Bynon credited Saunders for the work he has done so far but knows there is still a long way to go before the job is done.
"He has been our biggest advocate," she said.
"The big picture here is it's not just about us.
"It's about children and people out west.
"Build up Narromine and build up Gilgandra.
"There are all these Indigenous basketball competitions which are building
"We've got nowhere to put them."
Bynon joked that she had been hounding Saunders constantly asking him where the project was up to and how long it would take.
"Dugald [Saunders] has been fantastic," she said.
"I'd got down to talk to him and he would tell us where it was up to.
"So he's been fantastic for us and a great support."
The facility will eventually be also able to host rugby, tennis and netball playing fields. The sporting hub was announced back in 2018 and construction should start on the site near Charles Sturt University in 2022 pending council approval.
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