Chief Minister 'Barrs' any ACT sport bidding wars

Barr quashed Manuka Oval's chances of being part of any AFL hubs, but he also projected a gloomy forecast for professional sport in Australia - stating governments would be unable to cover any declines in television rights.

The ACT government has been forced to pay over the odds to bring elite sporting content to Canberra in the past, but Barr vowed that would no longer be the case.

He also revealed that would stretch Australia wide with the members of the national cabinet, which meets again on Friday, also stating they won't be party to any bidding wars either.

Territory, state and federal governments have spent billions of dollars dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, leaving little funds in the kitty for anything else.

Barr said a fall in advertising revenue meant broadcasters no longer had the funds to pay the TV rights they have in the past.

That meant professional sport was going to have to tighten its belt as well.

But Barr said they would continue to fund Canberra sport to the same level it currently does - including the Canberra Raiders, ACT Brumbies and the other national teams, as well as the local leagues.

MORE CANBERRA SPORT

"What I would say more broadly about the economics of sport is the model is now broken," he said on Thursday.

"The TV rights are not going to be what they were for reasons of what's happening in terms of free-to-air media ... that whole model is over.

"The cost base is going to have to come down massively and governments will not have money to heavily subsidise sport in the way that we have in the past.

"One of the things that's going to emerge around the table of state and territory governments is no more bidding wars that massively inflate the price of elite sport to the point that is unsustainable.

"The idea that the sport itself is going to generate the hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue into the future is just not there because the broadcasters are not going to pay for it, the advertisers aren't going to spend as much money because they don't have money to spend.

"The broader economic circumstances dictate that this market is deflating.

"What I am signalling that there is any suggestion that government - state or territory or federal - are going to step in and fill the gap that is now created - we don't have the money to do that either - so that definitely won't happen."

The AFL was considering using centralised hubs as a way to restart the competition, after the COVID-19 virus forced it to shut down after just one round.

But that won't be in Canberra following discussions between Barr and AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan.

Barr said some health advice had emerged on Thursday that suggested the hub model might not be the safest, likening it to a landlocked cruise ship.

"I categorically rule out there being an AFL hub [in Canberra]," he said.

"Gil McLachlan rang me last week. His initial starting point was he didn't think we'd have the facilities. I agreed with him.

"I can say there is no bidding war between states and territories. This was raised in national cabinet and all first ministers agreed no one is going to be putting money on the table to effectively have their football field be a TV set for matches.

"I heard this morning the health advice is hubs might not be the best model. They may be the equivalent of footballers' cruise ships and so you just would not do that. The health advice needs to lead this."