When he was nine years old, Brax Bates announced he wanted to play basketball.
He'd tried other sports, and nothing had stuck.
His mother, Mel, whose only basketball knowledge came from Space Jam, managed to get him a spot on the local St Clair team.
"We've never locked back," she laughed.
The 11-year-old plays for St Clair's Under 14 Boys Division 1 team.
"I like it for the friends and for the fun ... I like the commitment and the dedication you have to have," said Brax.
His passion was infectious. His sister, Ally, who was playing netball at the time abandoned the bib for basketballs.
Now, she competes in St Clair's Under 12 Girls Division 1 team.
"I just feel more confident playing, and also I get to meet new friends outside normal school. I'm good at it, I like it because I'm good at it," said the ten-year-old.
Ally quickly became friends with Sophia, who inherited her love of the game from her mother, Jessica - who happens to also be her coach.
"Sophia has grown heaps ... she loves working in a team atmosphere, she loves sharing the ball, she loves training when they go they have fun, they work on their skills. It's made a big difference," said Jessica.
Since she was ten-years-old, Jessica has been playing in the Penrith & District Basketball Association (PDBA).
The PDBA has operated in the region for 40 years and provides all types of programs including learn to play, development programs, senior and junior domestic competitions and facilitates representative pathways for both senior and junior including semi professional NBL1.
PDBA consists of over 3,500 members, many of which are Aboriginal families, and host over 200 junior domestic teams and 150 senior domestic teams and field 18 junior representative teams, four youth league teams and two NBL1 competitions representing Penrith.
The body operated out of the Penrith Valley Recreational Sports Centre (PVRSC) in Cambridge Park since it's construction in 1988. Teams compete at the six-court venue every Friday night and Saturday, until recently.
Sophia, Brax and Ally all did other sports. But one by one, they fell in love with basketball and want to be Australia's next Patty Mills. Credit: NITV/Rachael Knowles
Rising prices and community loss
In 2024, PDBA was accessing PVRSC courts for $77 per hour for junior games and $85 for senior games. In July of 2025, this increased to $95 an hour for both leagues.
By October, this was increased again to $132 an hour, a 55 per cent rise on their original rates.
Negotiations between PDBA and PVRSC broke down and the league disbanded continuing programs on local high school courts.
In a statement to NITV, the Board of PDBA said they're operating across six venues and have "managed to keep costs down for families consistent with what they were paying prior to the recent court hire increase".
"Six venues means six different court controllers/referee supervisors. It means referees have to be at different venues, and creates a greater administrative burden. It also means families may have children playing across multiple venues during the week or on the same night," they said.
As a result, they've lost about 10 per cent of their junior cohort.
A PVRSC spokesperon told NITV the increase was "to achieve the ability to cover the costs of the building".
They said they'd been in discussions with PDBA for three-years on different models of collaboration, including "merger, commercial hire, license and other partnerships".
"The move from $95 to $132 per hour was put forward as a short-term hire model at PDBA's request while longer-term solutions were explored," the spokesperson said.
Penrith Valley Recreational Sports Centre in Cambridge Park was loaned over $1.5million for urgent repairs from Penrith City Council in late 2023. Credit: NITV/Rachael Knowles
Financial instability and Council's role
In September 2023, PVRSC received a loan of over $1.5 million from Penrith City Council to replace a "termite damaged floor". Repayments on this loan were stalled, beginning May 2026.
PVRSC said historical pricing "did not generate enough income to met lease obligations, maintain the building and fund essential renewals".
According to council documents, PVRSC requested that the loan, in its entirety, be converted to a grant, or the approval of a $400,000 controlled line of credit or an extension to the repayment date to "stabilise PVRSC's cash flow".
However, a review by Council officers found that PVRSC had not "demonstrated the development or implementation of strategies to mitigate its financial liabilities" and recommended council reject the requests.
The PDBA Board are willing to continue negotiations with PVRSC, but believe the council also has as responsibility to support them.
Penrith City Council told NITV while they are"disappointed" negotiations stalled they are the "landowner only" and so "do not have the ability to step into operational matters of the stadium".
"Council understands the financial sustainability of the centre has been a longstanding issue for PVRSC," they said.
"This is why Council has helped PVRSC over the term of the lease via a number of loans and guarantees, with the most recent loan provided in 2023 to undertake significant high-cost repairs.
"In seeking this loan the PVRSC again acknowledged the challenges in their operating model and committed to working towards a sustainable model with the PDBA, and gave assurance it could service the new loan."
Establishing a new league
In a move to mitigate loss of business, PVRSC is establishing the Nepean Valley Basketball Association (NVBA).
"We began actively setting up Nepean Valley Basketball once it became clear PDBA would not accept the latest offer and were already reducing their footprint at the centre and securing alternative venues," PVRSC said.
"It wasn’t part of a long-term plan — it was a necessary response to rapidly changing circumstances. It was effectively done very last minute."
PVRSC rejects any allegations that they increased court hire prices to limit PDBA access to the venue and established Nepean Valley Basketball Association as a competitor.
"The centre did not raise prices in order to create a league. The centre raised prices to survive."
Through volunteer power and the support of local high schools, PDBA have been able to continue competitions on courts across the region. Credit: NITV/Rachael Knowles
"We see, every week, the impact that sport has on kids’ physical health, mental wellbeing, friendships and sense of belonging," they said.
"The decisions we are making now are not about turning our back on community sport – they are about protecting a community venue so that children and families in Penrith still have somewhere to play in five, ten and 20 years time."
With two future NBL stars on her hands, Mel hopes things can return to normal as soon as possible.
"At the end of the day, I'm here for my kids. I want my kids to be able to come and play like they used to with their friends. They all miss each other, they want to be together again, and they just want to play," she said.
Share
