NRL refuses to budge on Civic stadium preference for Canberra

As ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr pushes ahead with plans to redevelop Canberra Stadium, or build a new venue at Bruce, the NRL has lodged another submission to a federal inquiry into promoting the capital.

The stadium topic has been a divisive issue for the past 14 years, but appeared to be nearing a resolution last month when Barr announced a deal to partner with the Australian Sports Commission on an AIS rebuild.

The push for a venue in Civic, which was reignited last year, has stalled as the ACT government commissions a sixth feasibility study into stadium location options.

But the NRL has been a long-term backer of the plan to put a stadium in the city and, despite Barr saying the project would be too expensive and complicated, doubled down on its preference in a new submission.

In written responses to questions posed at a senate hearing last month, the NRL likened Canberra Stadium to facilities in a regional town and detailed its four elements required for hosting major events.

It said the government would still need to pay significant "destination fees" to win hosting rights of events, but pointed to the economic impact of marquee fixtures.

The NRL said the women's State of Origin game in Parramatta, which attracted 12,972 fans last month, generated $2.3 million in tourism. It said the second game in Townsville, attended by 18,275, generated $1.9m in economic return and the 2022 All Stars game in Sydney resulted in an economic impact of $6.7m.

"The NRL would view Canberra's stadium infrastructure as more representative of a regional town/city, as opposed to what would be expected of a nation's capital," the NRL said.

MORE CANBERRA SPORT:

In response to a question about whether Barr's plans to reinvigorate Bruce would guarantee more events, the NRL said: "Potentially, but this will depend on the extent of the upgrades or whether it is a complete rebuild.

"We would still need to take into consideration the four elements listed in question one and as part of this assessment.

"[Canberra] would be compared to similar sized venues across Australian including [Parramatta, Townsville and Melbourne]

"Importantly the aforementioned venues are within walking distance of each city's CBD which further enhances the overall event experience as they can easily go to a restaurant or bar before and/or after the match and public transport accessibility is vastly superior.

"For these reasons we strongly advocate a new stadium for Canberra should be built in the city's CBD."

Asked if a new "national stadium" in Civic would guarantee more events, the NRL said: "Most likely, yes.

"The types of events Canberra could attract will depend on the size of the venue, but if a new 30,000 seat stadium was built in Civic, Canberra would be likely to secure matches such as the Indigenous All Stars and Internationals, Test matches and women's State of Origin.

"We would, however, still need to take into account elements such as commerciality, such as destination fees paid by the government to secure the content and Canberra Stadium would need to offer competitive venue hire terms in comparison to other venues."

Barr has previously called on the NRL to guarantee content for a new stadium after criticising the process.

The government was forced to invest in stadium facility upgrades this year to ensure it was capable of catering to both male and female athletes on the same day.

The Canberra Raiders' women's team will play their first home match this weekend after starting the NRLW campaign with a loss against Cronulla on Sunday.

The historic moment will coincide with the opening of new change room facilities for the women's teams after some had previously been forced to get ready at the AIS due to a lack of room.

The government has completed the building work in time for the Raiders' clash against the Roosters on Saturday, which will feature as part of a doubleheader with the men's team to play against Newcastle.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.