Netball Central, Sydney

Netball Central is an Australian netball venue located in Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales. Between 2016 and 2018, due to a naming rights arrangement, it was known as the Genea Netball Centre. The venue is owned by Netball New South Wales. It serves as their headquarters and as the main training base for New South Wales Swifts and Giants Netball. It was a host venue for the 2015 Netball World Cup and the 2018 Invictus Games. As well as netball, Netball Central regularly hosts martial arts, volleyball, table tennis, badminton and basketball tournaments and competitions.

Netball Central
Former namesGenea Netball Centre
Location2 Olympic Boulevard
Sydney Olympic Park
New South Wales[1][2]
OwnerNetball New South Wales
Capacity860
SurfaceTimber sprung floor courts
Construction
Broke ground2013
Opened2014
Construction cost$35m
ArchitectScott Carver Architects
Tenants
New South Wales Swifts
Giants Netball
Giants Netball Academy
Netball NSW Premier League
NNSW Waratahs
Canberra Giants
Website
www.netballcentral.com.au

History

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Construction

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In February 2011, Netball New South Wales announced their plans to build a new Netball Centre of Excellence in Sydney Olympic Park. Construction work began on the projection in 2013, with the "turning of the sod" taking place on Sunday, 17 February 2013. The architects were Scott Carver Architects and the builder was Probuild, while the Arup Group acted as consultants. Netball Central was the first sports facility to be built at the park since the 2000 Summer Olympics. Located on Olympic Boulevard, it was built on land in front of the State Sports Centre. One of its most distinctive features is a gable-roofed portal frame of laminated veneer lumber.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] The finished project cost $35m and was funded by the Australian Government, the Government of New South Wales, the Sydney Olympic Park Authority and Netball New South Wales.[7][8][13][14]

Opening

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On Monday, 1 December 2014, Netball New South Wales moved into Netball Central.[7][8] It was officially opened on 6 February 2015 with a ceremony attended by Wendy Archer, the Netball NSW President, Carolyn Campbell, the Netball NSW CEO, Stuart Ayres, a Government of New South Wales minister and Craig Laundy, the Member of Parliament for Reid. It was originally due to be officially opened in December 2014 but was the ceremony was cancelled due to the Lindt Cafe siege.[13][14]

During its first year open, Netball Central hosted three major netball tournaments. In February 2015 New South Wales Swifts hosted the 2015 ANZ Championship Official Pre-Season Summer Shootout. The tournament featured all ten ANZ Championship teams. This was the first major netball tournament to be held at the venue. In April 2015, Netball Central hosted the under-17 and under-19 Australian National Netball Championships tournaments. New South Wales finished as under-19 champions and as under-17 runners-up. In August 2015 Netball Central was a host venue for the 2015 Netball World Cup. It was the official training venue for all sixteen participating teams. It also hosted pool matches, play-offs and placing games.[13][14][15][16][17][18]

Tenants

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Netball Central serves as the headquarters for Netball New South Wales and as the main training base for New South Wales Swifts and Giants Netball.[17][19][20][21][22]

Between 2015 and 2019, Netball Central regularly hosted Australian Netball League matches. Both NNSW Waratahs and Canberra Giants played home matches at the venue. The venue also hosted the 2016 ANL Final Series. In the grand final Waratahs lost 53–46 to Victorian Fury.[14][23][24][25]

Since 2016, Netball Central has been the host venue for the Netball NSW Premier League. It also hosts numerous other netball competitions organised by Netball New South Wales, including the Dooleys Metro League.[26][24][27][28][29][30]

In 2016, Sydney Warriors and Sydney Amazons announced that they would play their home matches for the 2016 Australian Volleyball League and Australian Women's Volleyball League seasons at Netball Central.[31]

Facilities

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Netball Central features six timber sprung courts, including a show court which seats 860.[17][19][32]

Events hosted

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Netball Central regularly hosts martial arts, volleyball, table tennis, basketball tournaments.[17][19][27][29][30]

Date Event
February 2015 2015 ANZ Championship Official Pre-Season Summer Shootout[13][14][15][16] Pre-season netball tournament featuring the ten ANZ Championship teams.
April 2015 2015 Australian National Netball Championships[14] Under-17 and Under-19 tournaments.
August 2015 2015 Netball World Cup[14][17][18] Training venue for all 16 participating teams. Hosted pool matches, play-off and placing games. Hosted 16 matches.
June 2016 2016 Australian Netball League Finals Series[23][24] Victorian Fury defeated NNSW Waratahs 53–46 in the grand final.
November 2016 2016 Sydney International[24] Badminton tournament
March 2018 Pre-Season Tournament[28] Tournament featuring Swifts, Giants, West Coast Fever and England played before 2018 Suncorp Super Netball season
May 2018 2018 Sydney International[28] Badminton tournament
August 2018 2018 IWRF World Championship[28] Wheelchair rugby tournament
October 2018 2018 Invictus Games[28][17][33] Sitting volleyball pool matches, Powerlifting heats and finals
September 2022 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup[34] Training venue

Naming rights sponsor

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Years
Genea[24][27][28][35] 2016–2018

References

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  1. ^ "Netball Central". www.netballcentral.com.au. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Netball Central". www.sydneyolympicpark.com.au. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Netball NSW and NSW Swifts – 2011 Annual Report" (PDF). Netball NSW. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  4. ^ "NSW Netball Centre of Excellence takes shape". www.ausleisure.com.au. 8 August 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Netball NSW and NSW Swifts – 2012 Annual Report" (PDF). Netball NSW. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Netball NSW and NSW Swifts – 2013 Annual Report" (PDF). nsw.netball.com.au. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  7. ^ a b c "Netball NSW moves into new centre of excellence". www.ausleisure.com.au. 1 December 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "2014 Annual Report – Netball NSW" (PDF). nsw.netball.com.au. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Netball Central". www.scottcarver.com.au. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Netball Central is the new headquarters for Netball NSW". www.arup.com. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Netball Central". www.woodsolutions.com.au. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Netball". fielders.com.au. 16 October 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d "No more waiting game as $35m Netball Central opens at Olympic Park". www.smh.com.au. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g "2015 Annual Report – Netball NSW" (PDF). nsw.netball.com.au. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  15. ^ a b "Pre-Season". www.anz-championship.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  16. ^ a b "Sydney to host ANZ Championship Summer Shootout". www.netballnz.co.nz. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  17. ^ a b c d e f "About – Netball Central". www.netballcentral.com.au. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  18. ^ a b "Sydney 2015". World Netball. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  19. ^ a b c "Netball". www.netballcentral.com.au. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Contact". nsw.netball.com.au. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  21. ^ "Contact Us". giantsnetball.com.au. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Contact Us". nswswifts.com.au. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Fury crowned ANL 2016 Premiers". vic.netball.com.au. 26 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  24. ^ a b c d e "Netball NSW – 2016 Annual Report" (PDF). Netball NSW. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  25. ^ "2019 DUANL Fixture" (PDF). netball.com.au. 15 April 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  26. ^ "Venue". www.nnswpremierleague.com.au. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  27. ^ a b c "Netball NSW – 2017 Annual Report" (PDF). Netball NSW. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  28. ^ a b c d e f "Netball NSW – 2018 Annual Report" (PDF). Netball NSW. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  29. ^ a b "Netball New South Wales – 2019 Annual Report" (PDF). nsw.netball.com.au. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  30. ^ a b "Netball New South Wales – 2020 Annual Report" (PDF). nsw.netball.com.au. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  31. ^ "Sydney AMAZONS and WARRIORS secure 27 Million Dollar Stadium for 2016 AVL Matches!". www.sydneywarriors.com. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  32. ^ "Sports Partnerships – Sydney Olympic Park Authority". www.sopa.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  33. ^ "Planning Your Visit To Genea Netball Centre" (PDF). www.invictusgames2018.com. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  34. ^ "Women's Basketball World Cup coming to home of Netball NSW". nsw.netball.com.au. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  35. ^ "Netball NSW welcomes Genea to family". www.sportnsw.com.au. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
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