What do other Australian cities tell us about resolving Canberra Stadium's future?
By
James Vyver and
Markus Mannheim
The question of whether the ACT needs a new sports stadium was widely debated during this year's federal election campaign. Former rugby union international David Pocock, who is now an ACT senator,
campaigned for a venue to be built in the city's CBD. As recently as 2018, this was also the hope of the ACT's chief minister, Andrew Barr — though he now argues it's too costly. Meanwhile, former Liberal senator Zed Seselja said he wanted a smaller, boutique stadium in Tuggeranong in Canberra's south.
For now, the future of the ageing Canberra Stadium — which is approaching the end of its viable life — remains unresolved. But can we answer the question of what kind of stadium would best suit the national capital?
Venue has 'reached use-by date'
Canberra Stadium, which is in the Australia Institute of Sport (AIS) precinct in Bruce, has few admirers.
Phoebe Morgan, who has attended Canberra Raiders rugby league matches since the 1980s, says the venue needs "a big overhaul". "The toilets, the food facilities, the facilities for the teams all need a big upgrade," she says.
Raiders chairman Dennis Richardson agrees the stadium has "reached its use-by date".
And former national basketball coach Carrie Graf, who is the University of Canberra's director of sport, says the venue is no longer up to scratch. "The toilets, the amenities are old and terrible, the food offerings are sub-par, it's not easy to get around the venue," Ms Graf says.
The stadium, now 45 years old, is among the oldest in the country. If it is to stay in use for much longer, it will need a significant — and no doubt very costly — refurbishment. But is a 25,000-seat facility the right one for Canberra? Can we tell from the experiences of other, similar-sized communities — like Newcastle, Townsville and the Gold Coast?
No communities are filling stadiums
Canberra Stadium did not sell out once during the 2022 NRL season. In fact, while the season was relatively well-attended, on average just 43 per cent of the stadium's capacity was used. Neither the Newcastle International Sports Stadium nor Robina Stadium on the Gold Coast sold out either.
North Queensland Stadium, in Townsville, did have one sell-out crowd of 25,000 — it was helped by the fact that the city's NRL team, the Cowboys, played a home preliminary final.
The closest Canberra got to its 25,000-seat capacity was the Raiders' game against the Panthers in August, when 16,912 people turned up. Canberra's lowest crowd of the year was for the ACT Brumbies' Super Rugby quarter-final clash against the Hurricanes, which attracted just 4,752 people.
All of this begs the question: if Canberrans want a new stadium, shouldn't they fill their existing one first?
Ms Morgan puts low attendance down to the weather, saying many seats are not under the stand.
"So we all do sit out in the elements — but we're in Canberra, we're sort of used to that," she says. "The only thing I could think that they could do is build a stadium that could close a roof."
Women's sport matches in the ACT were comparatively well attended — though nowhere near enough to justify a large stadium. Canberra hosted two special women's rugby league fixtures this year. The Women's State of Origin between New South Wales and Queensland drew a crowd of 11,321. And 13,077 fans turned up for the Matildas' soccer clash against New Zealand. That match was the second in a two-game series; the other, in Townsville, attracted 10,779 people.
Build it, but will they come?
Stadiums, of course, sit empty most of the time — sometimes they're barely used even when they're hosting a match. Mr Barr says that's partly why the cost of building a new stadium simply doesn't stack up.
How did Canberra Stadium become an election issue?
Federal election candidates says Canberra lacks sporting facilities, and are turning the issue into an election debate.
The chief minister said in August one of the strongest arguments in favour of a new stadium in the CBD was its economic drawing power. "But it would only [happen] between 20 and 30 times a year, and that's the problem."
Also, most Australian stadiums operate at a loss, including Canberra's. Annual reports show the Bruce site did generate net revenue of $2.3 million in 2021-22 — but that doesn't factor in all of the stadium's costs, such as its construction.
Nonetheless, several new stadiums have been built in Australia in recent years, including in Townsville. During the 2016 federal election, both the governing Coalition and the Labor opposition
promised the north Queensland city a stadium. It opened in 2019 with an Elton John concert, and would have hosted rock band Kiss two months ago had the Cowboys not made this year's NRL finals.
Ms Morgan says she'd love a similar venue in Canberra. "I'm very jealous, a stadium like that would be a great fit for us," she says. "The facilities are great, there's plenty of food outlets, there's stuff outside the ground that they can do."
Calls for new venue won't quieten
With Canberra growing fast, talk of a new venue is unlikely to fade. Senator Pocock calls the existing site a "dead space" — too far from other facilities to attract people. "The last thing we need is a Homebush out at Bruce," he says.
Mr Richardson points out that a "national stadium" was part of Walter Burley Griffin's original plan for Canberra
"Quite clearly, as a national capital, having a new stadium is an important priority," he says. "But we need to do that cooperatively with the ACT government and with the federal government."
That won't be happening soon — and not only because of Mr Barr's position on the matter. The ACT's other governing party, the Greens, says community indoor sports facilities are a more pressing priority.
But others, like Ms Graf, say the two are not mutually exclusive. She says communities do benefit from large sports stadiums and those intangible benefits should be weighed up in addition to any budget considerations.
"If we see in other cities where there are new stadiums and the uplift that gives … it has a massive impact in terms of people choosing to go to games," she says.
The ACT's main sports venue is ageing and rarely comes close to being full — should it be replaced, refurbished or downsized?
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