Let me tell you why.

Point one - the association has documented evidence of similar basketball associations across Victoria "jumping ship" when contracts weren't honoured and promises broken.

Increased cost to use meeting rooms, running tournaments, fees for basketball participants, and usage skyrocketed. This was inevitable as councils and private enterprise found running this edifice was costing more than anticipated.

Point two - the associations lost all autonomy and were no longer in charge of organising their tournaments, championships and training and were allotted a minimal timetable.

Point three - our accountants estimated that it would cost $60,000 per year more to run the same programs we are running now, going by the last figures given to us by the council officers.

Most recently they wanted to take us over after just paying off the last loan.

Point four - basketball associations across Australia are now partnering with the education department and building multi-purpose sports stadiums at the schools - thus sharing costs, maintenance, cleaning etc.

Point five - these stadiums are used through the day by students and after hours by participants of other sports - including table tennis, volleyball, netball, squash, and basketball. Usage is then maximised.

Most schools already have outdoors facilities or, as in Horsham College's case, lots of adjoining land.

Point six - the council has been single-minded in focusing on the showgrounds as the location for the leisure centre with all its problems - for example, flood prone problems, main Melbourne to Adelaide truck route and traffic congestion. Why?

Point seven - the leisure centre and the basketball stadium have now been merged with the town to river precinct, where anybody not affirming the council's vision of the future is a knocker, and not visionary.

Point eight - the basketball association agreed to option two, where the basketball was completely separate from the leisure centre. The new plan shows it has now been relocated to join with our stadium.

The Horsham Amateur Basketball Association believes that joining the centre to us is a way of the council taking over the stadium by stealth.

Point nine - the basketball association fought the council twice in the past 15 years.

The last takeover battle ended up where the Horsham Amateur Basketball Association finally managed get a 10-year licence, after three years of opposition.

Now the lawn tennis and croquet have been given their marching orders.

Point 10 - be wary, ratepayers - if you say yes to the town to river project, you are also saying yes to a $20 million leisure centre.

You will be picking up the tab for many years for running this white elephant.

The population does not warrant it.

Owen Hughan, president, Horsham Amateur Basketball Association