Construction of Tasmania’s $20 million high-performance training centre for the JackJumpers and Jewels has been completed ahead of schedule, with finishing touches now being added to the playing courts.
The Kingborough Sports Precinct facility is on track to be open ahead of the 2026–27 NBL and WNBL seasons.
It spans 3,365 square metres and includes two courts, a show court, a gym, physiotherapy and medical rooms, wet and dry recovery areas, change rooms and administration spaces.
Tasmania’s Sport Minister Nick Duigan said the project was a major investment in the state’s sporting future.
“The centre has been built from the ground up with the training and performance needs of the teams in mind while strengthening the State’s growing basketball pathway,” he said.
He said the facility also boosted the broader Kingborough Sports Precinct as a community and elite sporting hub.
“While primarily the home of the JackJumpers and Jewels, the centre will also be a beacon for young Tasmanians, showing them the pathway to the elite levels,” Duigan said.
“These young and emerging athletes will now be able to see a clear progression from their first experience on a community court through to representing the JackJumpers or the Jewels at the highest level.”
The centre was built by local Tasmanian contractor Fairbrother and designed by ARTAS Architects, supporting more than 450 local jobs during construction.
Tasmania Jewels development player Andie Smith recently moved home from the Centre of Excellence in Canberra to join the Jewels.
“The Jewels will definitely have the best training facility of any team in the WNBL, or anywhere in Australia actually, and that’s a great competitive edge for us,” Smith said.
“Personally, this is the best training ground for me to chase my dreams.”
JackJumpers general manager of basketball operations Darren Smith said he was “blown away by this facility”.
“Having a state of the art gym, court and recovery area right here at the home of the JackJumpers and Jewels will really up our game on the national stage,” he said.
He said the centre had already helped with recruitment, including convincing Tasmanian Taran Armstrong to come home.
