By Mitchell Clarke
With summer on the approach, 48 fans will be installed around Cardinia Life’s basketball stadium, bringing much relief to regular users of the facility.
For some time now, the lack of air flow has caused significant concerns for some parents, with some labelling it a “health hazard”.
Alysa Marie was forced to remove her 11 year old son from playing at the venue due to the “terrible conditions”.
“My son played basketball there for both summer and winter seasons for four years and I had to stop him from continuing due to the terrible air conditions and heat at the stadium,” Ms Marie said.
But the cool change has finally arrived, with Cardinia Shire Council confirming the installation, stating the project was part of council’s planned improvements schedule as well as taking customer feedback into consideration.
“Council has considered community feedback, investigating the best type of fan to install, the location of fans and the quantity of fans,” liveable communities manager Tracey Parker said.
“The fans will work in combination with the existing exhaust system, which extracts hot air out of the stadium and brings cool air from under the stadium through the floor vents.
“These improvements are in addition to the recent installation of new LED lighting and dehumidification upgrades at Cardinia Life, which have increased the energy efficiency of the aquatic centre.”
The announcement is welcome news for users of the facility, with Ms Marie thanking council, stating that she’d now allow her son to return to the sport he grew to love.
“Thank you for finally addressing what was a health hazard with many children suffering heatstroke from your lack of attention to the stadiums much needed upgrades,” she said.
“I will absolutely get him back into basketball now, as long as it’s no longer 40 degrees or higher in there with no air flow anymore.”
It’s understood council originally budgeted for the installation over a two year period, but Central Ward councillor Michael Schilling advocated for the funding to be brought forward to provide summer relief.
“Obviously when summer hits, the first thing we hear from the community is how hot it is,” Cr Schilling said.
“We think this is a great outcome as it will provide relief to all this upcoming summer season.”
The installation of all the fans across all courts is scheduled to commence in early December.
