Mildura Rural City Council and Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) team the Bendigo Spirit have announced the planned regular season fixture at the Mildura Sporting Precinct next month has been postponed due to the current COVID-19 situation in Victoria.
Council and the Bendigo Spirit management have been in regular communication in relation to the upcoming game, which has been postponed to ensure the health and safety of everyone involved.
“We’re disappointed the circumstances have not allowed for us to bring the Bendigo Spirit and WNBL to Mildura, but look forward to working with MRCC on a revised partnership which will see WNBL delivered in Mildura in the future,” Bendigo Stadium Chief Executive Officer Dennis Bice said.
“The health and safety of players, coaches, clubs and fans is our number one priority and with current circumstances in Victoria we believe this is the right decision.
“We look forward to making it back to the fantastic Mildura Sporting Precinct soon.”
Mildura Mayor Liam Wood said Council looked forward to continuing to work with Bendigo Spirit on future dates.
“We certainly understand and support Bendigo Spirit’s decision under the current circumstances and will continue working with their management team on future scheduling as part of our ongoing partnership at the Mildura Sporting Precinct,” Cr Wood said.
Meanwhile, work has been completed on the first phase of further improvements to the Mildura Sporting Precinct indoor court surface.
The gloss coating applied to both court halls at the Precinct late last year is being upgraded with a harder-wearing and stronger coating, at no cost to Council, after an opportunity was identified to improve the surface.
Court Hall 1 is now complete and available for hire. The works are being delivered in stages due to a lack of availability of the product. Court Hall 2 works are underway and expected to be completed and ready to be played on by 14 February.
All licensee sporting groups have been notified and are supportive of the stronger coating. While a small amount of disruption has occurred, all group have committed to temporary flexible programming with a view to moving across permanently in mid-February.
We’d like to thank all sporting groups, who have been supportive throughout the process.
ENDS
