AIS Arena closure halts Hawks' NBL capital link

The ACT government is still waiting to hear from Sport Australia after requesting details of the "infrastructure work" required before the Arena can be reopened.

Sporting organisations and event promoters have been told existing bookings have been cancelled for 2020 and the venue won't accept any requests for 2021.

The Hawks have been trying to forge a partnership with Canberra over the past two years, shifting home games to the city in a bid to tap into the NBL's audience.

It's been a success so far, with more than 8000 fans attending two games in the past two seasons and the hope more would follow as part of a Hawks ownership changeover.

The NBL awarded the Hawks' licence to an international syndicate, including former Sydney Kings co-owner Dorry Kordahi.

Kordahi wants to rebuild supporter in Wollongong, but the NBL is also keen for the franchise to explore other areas to grow the game.

Canberra hasn't had an NBL team since the Cannons went bust almost 20 years ago and men's basketball has been fleeting in the capital since.

The closure of the Arena, better known to basketball fans as "The Palace", means there isn't a suitable venue in the city for NBL matches.

The National Convention Centre can accommodate 1800 people, but it isn't enough to make it viable for NBL teams to move home games to a new city.

Kordahi says the Hawks are still keen to work with Basketball ACT and the ACT government, but a potential pre-season game may be the only option for the 2020-21 season. "From our end, this season wasn't about taking the Hawks on the road and we hadn't spoken to the ACT government," Kordahi said.

"In due course we wanted to look at expanding our footprint. There were talks about Canberra, Newcastle and all sorts of areas ... we thought we could build on the success of playing a couple of games in Canberra.

"I've heard it has been a success in the past couple of years and the community embraced those games. Tuggeranong could be an option for a pre-season game.

"A venue of 1800 doesn't cut it for any professional sport in this country. The AIS Arena was definitely a venue of NBL capacity ... I'm not sure what they're doing with the Arena, it was surprising to see they let it go for so long without upgrading."

Hawks and Cairns players were pushed to their limit at the start of 2019, playing at the 39-year-old venue on a 41-degree day in Canberra. There's no air conditioning at the AIS Arena.

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The lack of air conditioning has been a bugbear since the Cannons were playing, and Sport Australia said lighting, seating and other infrastructure contributed to the decision to close the Arena doors indefinitely.

The venue is stuck in a funding vacuum, federal Sport Minister Richard Colbeck calling on the ACT government to invest money to improve the facility.

Sport Australia owns the Arena, but it's understood it loses money to oversee its operations and Colbeck said running the venue was not part of the AIS or Sport Australia's business purpose.

The ACT government wants to know what work needs to be done and is reluctant to inject funds to a venue it doesn't own, but closing the AIS Arena leaves the city without a premier concert, sport and exhibition centre.

The Canberra Capitals are working with the government to find an alternate venue for their WNBL matches, with a backlog of conference and expos set to clash with their schedule for the 2020-21 season.