Chief Minister Andrew Barr has asked the Prime Minister to co-fund the proposed new stadium in Bruce; but opposition leader Elizabeth Lee has urged the PM not to tie any federal funding commitment to any specific location, given the election is barely six months away.
“It is essential that any much-needed funding by the Federal Government for a stadium in the ACT be available to be utilised at a location determined by the ACT government of the day,” Ms Lee wrote.
Once again, it seems, the stadium will be an election issue, as it has been for more than a decade.
Mr Barr wrote to the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers last month under the National Capital Investment Framework, requesting a 50/50 funding split on the progression of a sports, health and education precinct (including the stadium) in Bruce, linking the Australian Institute of Sport, CIT Bruce, the University of Canberra, and the Northside Hospital, a government spokesperson said.
The ACT Government has not granted Canberra Daily’s request to see a copy of the Chief Minister’s letter, or answered how much money the government wants.
Discussions between the two governments were ongoing, the spokesperson said, and the Commonwealth would announce its plans for the AIS precinct later this year.
The current GIO Stadium, built in 1977, is considered outdated and subpar. The ACT Government announced in 2012 that it would build a new stadium in Civic by the end of that decade; but paying off the Mr Fluffy loan delayed that project. In recent years, the government has favoured a new stadium on the existing site, due to “challenges” with building a stadium on the Civic Pool site, such as amendments to the National Capital Plan to accommodate the roof.
Last year, the government and the Australian Sports Commission, the owner of the stadium, agreed to a $300,000 study to redevelop or replace Canberra Stadium at Bruce – the seventh such feasibility study, Ms Lee noted.
This study, due towards the end of this year, is seen as the first step towards building a modern 30,000-seat stadium, expected to cost around $500 million, and to be completed by 2033 – a quarter of a century after the ACT Government first proposed the concept, in 2009.
“Canberrans have been taken for a ride for 15 years,” Ms Lee said, “and it looks like, under Andrew Barr’s plan, no matter where it’s built, the stadium, if it is built at all, is going to take yet another 10 years.”
‘Where it’s built’ is a bone of contention. While the ACT Government now prefers Bruce (with EPIC as a fallback position), the Canberra Liberals, Senator and ex-rugby star David Pocock, the Canberra Business Chamber, and the National Rugby League all favour the original proposal of Civic.
A stadium in the city would be costlier – Ms Lee said she had been told that a stadium in the city would be between $500 and $800 million; in 2021, it was estimated that a Civic stadium with a full façade and roof cover would cost $637 million if commenced in 2027, and $706 million in 2032 – but advocates expect it to produce more value.
“There is a reason why cities around the world place their stadiums in the heart of the city: it brings the best economic, social, cultural benefits for the city,” including tourism and world-class games and events, Ms Lee said.
Senator Pocock has argued that a National Multi-Use Arena in the city – suitable for both sports matches and music concerts – could “become the centrepiece of an entertainment precinct” in the city, re-energising Civic and realising Canberra’s potential as a global city. Bruce, on the other hand, is a substandard location for a stadium, in his opinion; the site should be used for housing to address the shortage.
“A stadium-hospital precinct out at Bruce is not the ideal solution, and seems inconsistent with what the vast majority of stakeholders want and will ultimately incur a huge lost opportunity cost for our city,” Senator Pocock said today.
The Canberra Business Chamber and 20 other organisations proposed in 2022 an “intergenerational” convention centre and sports stadium worthy of the national capital, on and around the Civic Pool on Constitution Avenue.
“The Canberra Business Chamber is supportive of a new stadium, and our preference has been for that stadium to be located in the city, as that will best help support business,” CEO Greg Harford said today.
“The Chamber thinks it is important that Canberra, as the National Capital, has a truly fit for purpose stadium. This, along with a new Convention Centre, will help our city play its role as the centre of the nation. They should be seen as national institutions. Given this, we think it is really important that the Commonwealth Government comes to the party with significant funding to support their rapid construction.”
Last year, both the NRL and ex-Raiders player Jarrod Croker also called for a new stadium to be built in the city. An NRL spokesperson said today:
“The NRL welcomes the continued progress towards the realisation of a new stadium for Canberra. The passionate fans and strong rugby league community in and around the ACT deserve a world class facility, and we will continue to support the Raiders in their efforts to secure the best possible outcome.”
However, Canberra Daily understands that the NRL’s preferred solution is Civic, rather than Bruce.
Canberra Daily asked the government why, despite such widespread support for Civic, redeveloping / replacing Canberra Stadium within the AIS precinct was the better option. The government did not answer.
“This is just another demonstration of Andrew Barr and his arrogant Labor-Greens government that unless it’s their idea, they’re not going to back it,” Ms Lee said. “The one thing that we can be sure of is that if Andrew Barr were given another term, there will be more talk and more talk, and more action.”
Senator Pocock expressed his frustration with the delays to the stadium: “What we need to see is a fully funded commitment, not fobbed off as just another election promise, and I am concerned that time is running out to do that, even if the political will is there…
“It’s disappointing to see this lack of progress on the stadium issue and a lack of compelling ideas being put forward for our city.
“I’ve been pushing these things since I was elected, and will continue to do so. Every time I have raised it with federal Ministers, I’m told that the prerequisite to any consideration of co-funding any projects in Canberra is receiving a request from the ACT Government in the first instance.”
Ms Lee suggested that Mr Barr had written to the Prime Minister because of October’s election.
She said she understood that this was the first time in 15 years that Mr Barr had formally requested federal government funding for the stadium.
It follows this weekend’s revelation that the ACT Government, despite registering as a specialist disability accommodation provider in 2017, had “not once in the last seven years applied for eligible federal funding [from the National Disability Insurance Scheme, to modify ACT housing properties] that could have been used to improve the lives of Canberrans living with disability,” Ms Lee said.
“The ACT Government under Andrew Barr has absolutely dropped the ball when it comes to seeking and receiving information from any federal government about funding contributions,” Ms Lee said.
An ACT Government spokesperson retorted: “The Canberra Liberals have a proven track record of undermining infrastructure investment in the ACT. They were absent from debate for the last decade, despite having an open door to discussing this investment with three former Prime Ministers in Abbott, Turnbull, and Morrison.”
The stadium is not the only major infrastructure project where the ACT Government is looking to the Commonwealth to help pick up the tab. The Federal Government committed in December to jointly fund light rail to Commonwealth Park, and the Chief Minister is reportedly seeking co-funding for the second stage, to Woden. The Canberra Liberals, however, calculate the final tally for the tram from Civic to Woden would cost more than $5 billion.
Is the Commonwealth likely to co-fund both? Worst case scenario: If the government only co-funds one, what would the government do? Would that jeopardise either project? Can the ACT Government afford both?
The ACT Government would not say.
But Ms Lee has her suspicions.
“It’s more likely that the federal government is going to provide 50/50 funding for a stadium, no matter where it is, than it is going to provide 50/50 funding for stage 2A of a tram where we know that it’s going to be north of $4 billion,” she said.
What the ACT Government would say is this: it “will continue to work with the Australian Government to deliver the infrastructure our growing city needs. This includes light rail, a new stadium, sports and education precincts, housing proposals, and better health facilities for all Canberrans.”
The Canberra Liberals will have more to say about the stadium before the election, Ms Lee said.
“We will ensure that we actually take action, as opposed to undergoing feasibility studies, design work, and countless study tours to look at stadiums with no result.”
