Sport Australia wants Basketball Australia to be a major stakeholder in the redevelopment of the AIS campus, confident the sport has a world-class base in Canberra despite a mooted move to Melbourne.
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The Victorian government has made a $126 million election commitment to refurbish and expand the State Basketball Centre, prompting speculation Basketball Australia would move its Centre of Excellence to Melbourne.
But Basketball Australia boss Anthony Moore has described the sport's Canberra base as the "Rolls Royce" of facilities, reaffirming a long-term commitment until at least the end of 2021.
Sport Australia, formerly the Australian Sports Commission, has submitted a business case to the Federal government, which details a vision for transforming the ageing AIS facilities.
Basketball, an AIS foundation sport, is still one of the leaders on campus after significant investment from the NBA global academy to set up a satellite program and rejuvenate a 34-year-old building
"I would be disappointed and surprised if basketball did leave the AIS, but I would say the risk of that happening is relatively low," said Sport Australia boss Kate Palmer.
"We want to involve Basketball Australia in designing our new, revitalised campus and they would be a major stakeholder in that because of the commitment they've made to the site.
"Anthony Moore has been so professional and keeping us informed. He says [the AIS] is the best high-performance facility in the world for basketball, and I support his view on that.
"To replicate or, going forward, make that better, it would be very difficult for any organisation to deliver what we deliver here."
The AIS is in the midst of significant change, which is set to include a major downsize of the 64 hectare campus, as officials search for a way to be a world leaders in new areas.
Gymnastics Australia announced its intention to leave the AIS earlier this year, citing the state of a deteriorating 35-year-old building as one of the main reasons for the move.
But basketball, one of eight sports alongside gymnastics established at the AIS in 1982, has enjoyed international success in Canberra and has been bolstered by the addition of the NBA academy.
Some of Australia's best basketballers have spent time in Canberra as part of the former AIS scholarship program, including Lauren Jackson, Andrew Bogut, Patty Mills, Matthew Dellavedova, Joe Ingles and Dante Exum.
Basketball Australia opted to maintain a base in Canberra when the scholarship program was abolished under the Winning Edge strategy, using the existing courts and accommodation as a Centre of Excellence.
Any move to Melbourne would be contingent on being a better facility than the one at the AIS, as well as needing a dormitory building to house 36 or more athletes and elite level treatment, dining and recovery facilities along with the technological and human support available in Canberra.
Little of that was funded in the Victorian government's announcement on Sunday, so any move would be a long time away and the NBA has not yet considered any move from Canberra for its academy.
"The AIS is a world-class facility and we have been consistent with our discussions with government saying this is what we have got, we have a Rolls-Royce solution in Canberra and the commitment from government is to better that," Moore said.
The NBA has invested in new video technology to make the AIS venue one of the best in the world, and the AIS spent $750,000 three years ago to upgrade the 32-year-old floorboards.
Sport Australia has been reviewing its major assets at the AIS campus, and could sell Canberra Stadium, the AIS Arena and one of the pools to the ACT government to generate revenue.
"Our initial business case [for the future of the AIS] is with government now. There is dire need for revitalisation of the campus," Palmer said.
"We're hoping the government will approve the first stage so we can move into a more detailed planning stage."
