The centre has been inspected by the Tooheys New Crew, who are “doing a million beers worth of favours for Australia”, and so far they’ve liked what they’ve seen.

If the project is given the go ahead later this month the crew would build a function room in the centre, located on the mezzanine area above the existing grandstand.

The function room would have glass panelling on both sides with full views of the main court and the three outside courts, as well as a servery area.

Maitland Basketball Association general manager Chris Heath said it would be an unexpected bonus for the association ahead of the 2011 season.

“We put in a submission to get a lick of paint for the place because it is coming up to 10 years now and we ended up in this,” Heath said.

“If they were able to pull this off, wow, it would be big for basketball in Maitland, the community and it would help us in our bid to host bigger games [NBL].”

If the project is approved the function room is planned to be completed within three days and in time for the upcoming national under-20 tournaments, which are being held at the centre from February 20 to 26.

A celebrity game, featuring star crew member and former Newcastle Knights captain Paul Harragon, would precede the tournament on February 19.

But the project is one of many across the state on the to-do list, which also includes the Raymond Terrace men’s shed, the Wickham Park Oval and tea rooms at Glen Innes Showground.

To support the “spruce up the Federation Centre” project head to www.tooheysnew.com and

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