THE Tamworth Basketball Association has vowed to fight the council's recent increase to fees at the sports dome.
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Its board, which represents about 1000 members, voted unanimously to launch an online petition calling on Tamworth Regional Council to scrap the dome's fee rises.
As part of the council's 2019/20 budget, councillors recently backed the price hike which will see fees go up by 12.5 per cent.
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"We're all about healthy lifestyles, getting kids into sport and increasing female participation," Mr Darcy said.
"People will not be able to afford to participate and they're going to have a big empty shed out there with no one in it."
Mr Darcy said the basketball petition would go live online in the coming days.
It comes after the Tamworth Netball Association launched its own petition calling on the council to fix the dome's central timing and announcement system.
Mr Darcy said the combined weight of the city's basketball and netball associations could help influence the council to either waive or defer these increases, but it would need support from the councillors and the community.
"It's not about a business, it's about looking after the community," he said.
"It's about allowing all walks of life to participate in these sports."
A council spokesperson said fees hadn't been raised for a number of years before last month's decision.
"Secondly, the council has recently completed a major extension of the sports dome which has added a new indoor court," they said
"Council needs to ensure that it is effectively managing this asset so that renewal works into the future are adequately funded."
Groups had a chance to provide feedback on the increase as part of the annual operational plan consultation.