Bathurst Indoor Sports Stadium still leaking after $70,000 investment to fix roof

Bathurst Regional Council set aside the five-figure sum to fix the stadium's roof, which would often leak during wet weather, resulting in the closure of the venue for all activities until the water cleared up.

Works were carried out by council in January but it has since been discovered that rain has leaked in via the whirlybirds on the roof, according to council's director of engineering services, Darren Sturgiss.

"As per the budget allocation, a large portion of the roof was replaced in early 2022 to resolve the issue of leaks, which has significantly reduced the impact on the stadium," he said.

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"However, following completion of works, some periods of water ingress have been noted.

"Investigations have revealed that during heavy rain periods with higher winds, water can still enter via the whirlybirds on the roof, causing ponding around these areas on the courts."

Mr Sturgiss said the problem cannot be resolved unless the whirlybirds are removed, which cannot be done during the warmer months.

"It is not possible to resolve this issue without removing the whirlybirds, which are necessary to retain use of the facility during the summer months," he said.

"We have experienced higher than typical rainfall over the last 12 months, which has exacerbated the situation."

The $70,000 investment was included late to the 2021-22 council budget.

The project was added by former councillor Alex Christian, although he wasn't the only one to push for it behind the scenes, and it was unanimously supported.

The Bathurst Indoor Sports Stadium was most recently closed on May 12, according to a post on its Facebook page.

"Unfortunately, all senior basketball games have been cancelled tonight," the Facebook post said.

"Too much water on courts and rain not letting up makes it too unsafe for us to play on."

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