Due to high RSVP numbers Orange City Council moved the event to the foyer of Orange Civic Theatre.

Two short presentations were made, one each by Development Services director Mark Hodges and Community, Recreation and Cultural Services director Scott Maunder.

Mel McDonell from Environmentally Concerned Citizens of Orange said she was "angry" that the site of the stadium and sporting precinct "seemed to be a fait accompli".

Ms McDonell, who will run for council in September as a Green candidate, accused council of being "manic" to build the stadium "and to hell with the environment" after receiving $25 million in funding from the state government.

She said the site provided "an incredible opportunity to turn that area into the next Cook Park".

"There is massive risk that the DA is approved to demolish 500 trees, then the site just sits vacant or they spend all this money and it becomes a white elephant," Ms McDonell said.

Kate Hook from community group Futuring Orange said "it was encouraging to see that level of community engagement, whether you support that location or not".

She described the forum as "very helpful", but said she wanted council to release more information on alternative options for the stadium site.

"They said there were seven [potential] sites considered and I'd like to see more on those sites and why they weren't considered more thoroughly.

"If the site near the Northern Distributor was going to be more expensive, the question is how much more?"

Ms Hook said she was "certainly not against the stadium ... but I feel there could be a bit more thought looking at other locations; perhaps Orange could end up with two fantastic assets - parklands and sporting facilities".

Councillor Jason Hamling supported the Jack Brabham Park area as the right location for the sporting precinct.

He said locals deserved to be able to attend games featuring elite rugby league, rugby union and soccer players.

He also said Orange had missed out on hosting sporting competitions as playing fields were too spread out.

The first stage of council's plans to build a sporting precinct, which includes removing trees on a site alongside Sir Jack Brabham Park, was put on show for community comment in December.

It will remain on display until early February.

Later DAs will look at the design of a grandstand, sports fields and other facilities.

"The DA shows the sports precinct would not be built in older growth areas alongside the hospital, but in a former cleared area that was planted during the 1980s with Radiata pine to mark out the fairways of a golf course," said a council report.

Council said an independent environmental assessment of the 28-hectare site, between Forest Road and Huntley Road, found the site contained approximately 794 trees and 234 shrubs.

Of the 794 trees, approximately 513 are proposed for removal, while 281 would be kept.

Of the 513 trees identified for removal, approximately 55 are native planted trees, nine are remnant native trees and 449 are exotic species, including Radiata pines, planted during the 1980s for a golf course.

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