Bouncer Sports Centre closes after 36 years
Cricket Australia forced to move venues for National Championships which were scheduled to be held at the venue in June/July.
Bouncer Sports Centre, a long-running indoor sports centre in Perth, Western Australia, has been forced to close after 36 years in business, citing rising rent increases as a key reason.
It is a sad end for a much-loved facility in Perth’s Northern Suburbs, which just last year hosted the Masters National Championships. The centre was home to a variety of different sports including indoor cricket, football, and netball.
The closure of the long-standing sports venue highlights the growing concerns for indoor sports operators in a post-COVID environment, especially those who run their commercial business on privately owned land. Due to pressures driven by increasing rent, inflation, and reduction in teams competing meaning a drop in revenue, it has made the business model of such organisations difficult to maintain.
The centre was scheduled to host the 2025 Australian National Indoor Cricket Championships, taking place over two weeks from late June. Cricket Australia have been forced to move the venues for the tournament on short notice, with Striker Indoor Sports and Seamer Indoor Sports Centre now jointly hosting the event across Perth.
Whilst it is a privilege for indoor sports centres to hold such events, it puts enormous strain on the businesses who are private operators, unlike their outdoor cricket counterparts, and are required to balance their normal course of business with the court time usage of teams who attend the event.
Operators are required to give up around 150 hours of court time for the event, whilst Cricket Australia reportedly provide a $5,000 AUD hosting fee to them in return.
It represents a wider issue between centre operators and the governing body, which indoor cricket is a part of.
Image: Bouncer Sports Centre/Facebook
