Canterbury Bankstown Council, which jointly contributes up to $220,000 a year for management and maintenance of the facility with the NSW Office of Sport, has called on the State Government to come up with a vision and funds to “make it a state-of-the-art complex of which the entire community could be proud”.
Mayor Khal Asfour said the velodrome – built at a cost of $42 million – had an international status and its future use as “a facility for all the community is very much in all our interests”.
“This includes broadening its use from not only cycling, but a facility that can host Olympic sports like badminton and table tennis,” he said.
“Over the years, the use of the Velodrome has dwindled, but still enjoys a multi-functional use.”
The Mayor said the council was unfairly treated by the former State Government when it came to funding “but with change comes new opportunities, and we must seize the moment to spruik our case for more support”.
The velodrome was used by the council to conduct Australia’s largest Citizenship Ceremony, and while the track is an ideal training facility for elite cycling clubs, along with amateur cyclists, national cycling events and state titles, it has also accommodated inline skating organisations and roller derby groups.
A council spokesperson said: “The Velodrome is a State significant facility and its future must rest with the NSW Government.”
A council report in 2016 recommended its demolition as one option to countering the mounting maintenance costs, but that was knocked on the head 18 months later.