Civic stadium proposal on Elizabeth Lee and Canberra Liberals' radar for 2024 ACT election

In a major development for the drawn-out stadium debate, ACT Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee has backed a new option to build a stadium in Civic after being presented with a 36-page blueprint last week.

The stadium issue has been dormant as an ACT election issue for the past 13 years despite ongoing discussions and feasibility reports about its location, design and costs.

But the proposal for an inverted-bowl design and public private partnership project to offset the cost to the government has catapulted it on to the ACT and federal political agenda.

Lee said a concrete plan for a stadium was overdue after more than a decade of changing ideas, backing the Civic option just days after declaring the Liberals would not fund light rail to Woden if it won the next election.

"The city stadium remains firmly on the table for the Canberra Liberals," Lee said.

Asked if it would be a part of an election campaign, Lee said: "We're certainly open to it.

"Kudos to the business community and sport stakeholders who have really taken leadership on this because they would be the most frustrated after 13 years of being played around by the Chief Minister.

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"...We'll certainly have more to say in the lead up to the 2024 election. When we spoke about 2B of the tram, the Canberra Liberals will be very much focused on major and bold infrastructure projects that will prioritise economic and social benefits for the entire Canberra community. And a city stadium is definitely on the cards."

The "Realising the National Capital Plan" proposal outlines how a public private partnership could deliver a stadium and convention centre precinct in the city.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr is now reconsidering the city option after all but ruling out Civic as a location earlier this year because it had become too expensive and complicated.

The plan calls for the Commonwealth to give unused land at the AIS back to the ACT. The unused land includes the stadium, the AIS Arena and parking areas, all of which have not been used by the Australian Sports Commission for the past 20 years.

The land was allocated to the federal government in 1998 and designated for sports use. The commission, however, no longer considers the arena or the stadium as part of the AIS "core business".

Former ANU chief operating officer Chris Grange is acting as a planning advisor for the group behind the latest stadium proposal and believes the Commonwealth should give land back to the ACT.

The group of tourism, sporting, hospitality and convention organisations also stressed their document was not an "unsolicited bid" to build the stadium and develop land.

"It is a 'blueprint for action' by the ACT and federal government aimed at offering the territory a solution to a number of longstanding problems without creating a financial burden on the territory," the group said.

Barr has spoken with the commission about redeveloping Canberra Stadium, but it's unclear who would fund a revamp of the federally-owned asset.

Canberra's sporting infrastructure was thrust on to the federal election stage earlier this year when David Pocock and Zed Seselja locked horns over the issue during the campaign.

Now the ACT parties could go head to head over the next two years, Lee adamant it has to be in the heart of Canberra.

"There's a reason why cities all across the world are building their stadiums in the city," Lee said.

"We know the flow-on economic and social benefits when you have an infrastructure project of this magnitude. The fact Canberra has missed out on, and will continue to struggle to attract sporting events and major artists is because we just don't have the appropriate facilities."

The ACT government has opted not to bid for some sporting events - including the women's soccer World Cup and the men's rugby union World Cup - because of the cost of games, not the state of the stadium.

Still, the Mal Meninga grandstand is nearing the end of its lifespan and users and operators agree the venue needs a major revitalisation.

"Having a world-class facility that can host international events right in the middle of the city and showcase our beautiful city to the rest of the world is a really important point," Lee said.

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