Cohen Weir fears more of his friends will leave their home town in western New South Wales after a state government decision to axe funding for an indoor sports precinct.

"People are leaving Dubbo to go to schools in Sydney because we don't get the opportunities out here because of the facilities," the 15-year-old basketballer said.

"We've been waiting a long time. 

"[It's] pretty frustrating that they're pulling it now." 

Plans for an air-conditioned, five-court facility in Dubbo were first announced in 2018 with $48.6 million pledged by the then Coalition government before it lost the state election to Labor last year.

Minister for Western NSW, Tara Moriarty, said this week the project was no longer viable, blaming new costings of $70 million and her predecessors for poor planning.

"The NSW government's contribution to this project would be better used for alternative deliverable projects," Ms Moriarty said in an interview with the ABC.

"People across western NSW should be angry that the previous government failed to deliver this."

Decision shows 'lack of understanding' 

Dubbo is a central hub for the western NSW region.

But with only two indoor courts available, opportunities to play and to train are extremely limited.

"There are teams that can't play and people don't get the opportunity to play," Cohen said. 

"It just affects the whole community."

Dubbo Basketball Association said up to 50 children from Dubbo were put on waiting lists each season.

The town is not permitted to host regional leagues because of a five-court requirement for facilities.

So local players are forced to travel costly long distances for every game.

"Sometimes we leave school early on a Friday to travel, stay Friday night, play Saturday," Cohen said.

"So it's impacting learning."

Dubbo Netball Association member Karen Weekes said the decision showed a complete lack of understanding of Dubbo's place in NSW's central west.

"Minister Moriarty and Premier [Chris] Minns don't understand the geography and the makeup of western NSW," she said.

NSW Nationals Leader and Member for Dubbo, Dugald Saunders, launched a petition to bring the debate into parliament.

He said the project was developed and "shovel ready" with funding boosted twice by the time his government left office.

"We didn't build anything but work was done," he said. 

"You've got to remember there were two years of COVID.

"Five indoor courts and a massive PCYC facility, it was all there, designed, ready to go.

"Trying to blame the former government when you've been in government for almost two years already is not acceptable."

Youth mental health concerns

The same day it axed the sports precinct, the Minns government announced Dubbo as one of five towns selected for new mental health hubs to curb youth crime. 

The western region ranks among the highest in the state for juvenile offenders per 100,000 population.

In a statement, it pledged $110 million over four years for specialised mental health services to "provide interventions that can prevent future encounters with the justice system".

When asked whether cancelling the sports precinct would set back mental health and youth crime efforts, Ms Moriarty said other "opportunities" were being explored with funding from the $400 million Regional Development Trust Fund.

"My door is open now for ideas," she said.

But for kids like Cohen who have dreamed of a basketball career since he started playing at four years old, they are likely to be too late.

"It's minimising our chances with the delay of this stadium," Cohen said.