'A boost for our brand': GWS deal can pay off as ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr weighs in

The GWS Giants will earn in excess of $500,000 more per game than Canberra's elite sports teams when a new 10-year deal with the territory government kicks in until the end of 2032.

The partnership means the ACT government has secured 20 years' worth of AFL content in Canberra while paying less than their Tasmanian counterparts, who it is believed shell out close to $1 million per game.

The price of the Giants deal still remains a point of tension in Canberra given the figure dwarfs the funding provided to the Canberra Raiders and ACT Brumbies.

The Giants are likely to receive $713,000 per match across four games at Manuka Oval next year when the deal is broken down on a per-game basis including men's and women's matches.

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The Raiders' will earn about $186,000 per game across about 13 home games at Canberra Stadium, while the Brumbies' nine home games equate to $197,000 per match.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr wants to spend on ongoing sport content, which the Giants deal provides for a formerly mercenary code in Canberra.

University of Canberra associate professor Naomi Dale says "teams that are going to bring a large numbers of visitors are attractive for the government to invest in", but "local teams are right to expect support".

Barr says sports deals go beyond a per-game basis and include varying costs of national league participation, the commercial value of sponsorship and branding, playing venue size and returns to hirers, tourism and economic development outcomes and diversity outcomes.

"That's obviously around pure numbers of people coming to town, hopefully staying overnight and so on. That way they're creating demand on areas like transportation, hotels and restaurants, but also promoting local business," Dale said.

"That helps with economic income, job opportunities, and particularly for Canberra, it really makes a difference to the branding for our town. We have a pretty poor reputation for what visitors see Canberra as if they've never been here, so being seen as a sporting destination is a pretty good boost for our brand and our image.

"Teams that are local, from a return on investment perspective, quite often they're already catering to local visitors rather than people travelling from interstate to come to watch the teams.

"I think the local teams are right to expect support because they still have an impact on the community, even if it's not as big of an economic impact."

The Canberra Capitals and Canberra United each cash in about $125,000 per year, while Cricket ACT is provided $33,000 per year for its Meteors program, and the Canberra Cavalry are given up to $40,000 in grants per year.

But Barr says the government's support of Canberra-based teams goes beyond performance agreements and deals for the Raiders and Brumbies to play out of Canberra Stadium.

The Chief Minister says the government has increased long-term funding partnerships with the Raiders and Brumbies this year, which over several decades would amount to "close to $100 million in taxpayer subsidy".

"The ACT government provided the Brumbies and the Raiders around $10 million to build their high performance training centres in the past decade. The government is also currently investing tens of millions in the Throsby Home of Football, and has upgraded the Narrabundah Ballpark," Barr said.

"The agreement with the Giants and the AFL is the cost of having regular AFL content in Canberra. Under the long-term agreement, at least 50 AFL and AFLW matches will be played in Canberra. As part of this agreement, Brand CBR and Visit Canberra will have increased visibility in key interstate markets.

"The ACT government is the only government in the country to offer multiple high-level funding agreements across such a wide range of sports. We do this because it is highly unlikely that any elite sporting team would be viable in the ACT without significant taxpayer subsidy."

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