The area is home to the Hastings River Junior District Cricket Association, along with Port Macquarie touch football, oz tag and soccer.

But now it has emerged council has received 18 months notice from a developer to vacate the sporting fields currently leased there.

It means both the junior and senior State Cup touch football events could be on borrowed time.

The State Cup events inject millions of dollars into the economy every 12 months and with the contract up for renewal, finding an alternate venue for this major event is imperative.

Council has had the lease on the Tuffins Lane site for many years, with the current lease commencing in 2009. 

Council has previously forward paid the lease fee for the entire term of the lease to 2036.​ The 18 months notice to vacate extends to early March 2018.

General manager Craig Swift-McNair was confident they had time to find alternate venues.

“The 18 month notice period allows us to fulfill our existing contractual obligations to NSW Touch for both the Junior and Senior State Touch Cup events, and allows us time to secure an alternate site,” he said.

“Council has been exploring additional sporting field options right across the area for some time, and the council adopted Recreation Action Plan highlights the need for new sporting infrastructure as our community continues to grow.”

Port Macquarie Touch Football Association vice-president Wayne Prince was “gobsmacked” by the news.

“They’re playing with people’s lives,” he said.

“Where does cricket go? What about soccer? What about motel owners who benefit from tens of thousands of dollars every year from the State Cup?”

The decision will also impact on cricket with six out of the 11 pitches the juniors have for their competition located out near the airport.

Junior president Merv Bourke said if they lost half of those available pitches, there would be real concerns about the competition and where the juniors would play.

“Put simply, if we lose those fields we wouldn’t have enough fields in Port Macquarie to run our competition,” he said.

“Cricket isn’t like any other sport where you can just put in another time slot.”​

HRDCA senior president Nik James felt the imminent closure of some of the fields would be a big loss for junior sportspeople.

“Unless council has a legitimate solution in securing and developing new sporting venues and facilities in the LGA to replace what will be lost, and there is no evidence to suggest they have, then we implore them to go back to the table and re-open negotiations,” he said.

Port Macquarie Oz Tag Association president Greg Smith felt a meeting with council could resolve the issue.

They would like a combined effort from all sporting organisations and council in determining the best way forward.

“Tuffins Lane was not the long-term future for our sporting community anyway,” he said.

“Whenever it rains it floods, so we’d like to see council put a plan in and tell us where we go.

“Not take six months to come up with a plan and then in 18 months time tell us we still have nowhere to go.”