New 25,000-seat Canberra city stadium proposal unveiled

Canberra Airport has unveiled a proposal for a new 25,000-seat covered stadium at Regatta Place, putting a city venue back into the debate over Canberra’s future sporting infrastructure.

The proposed stadium would occupy Commonwealth land currently containing Archbishop’s House and adjoining car parking, beside Commonwealth Park and close to Civic.

Designed for sport, concerts and other major events, the concept draws inspiration from Christchurch’s newly opened One NZ Stadium. Region Canberra reports the proposed venue would accommodate 25,000 spectators for sport and up to 36,000 for concerts.

The stadium is being promoted as a potential home for the Canberra Raiders and ACT Brumbies, alongside international football and major touring acts.

Canberra Airport says discussions with the Catholic Church over the site have been positive and are continuing. However, the proposal remains at the concept stage, with land arrangements, planning approvals and funding still to be resolved.

The airport is prepared to contribute resources to develop and assess the proposal, but says it does not intend to own or operate the completed stadium.

Its work would include architectural design, construction costings and an independent economic and social impact assessment. Airport chief executive Stephen Byron told Region Canberra a realistic cost estimate could be ready for government consideration within four to six months.

The central location is a key part of the pitch, placing spectators within walking distance of Civic’s hotels, restaurants and bars, as well as light rail.

The Property Council of Australia has welcomed the proposal, arguing a city stadium could support local businesses and attract sporting, entertainment and cultural events.

“Our vision has always been for a stadium that is integrated into the city, connected to public transport,” Property Council ACT executive director Ashlee Berry said.

The proposal comes less than a month after the Bruce Precinct Master Plan outlined two options for Canberra Stadium.

One scenario would relocate the CIT Bruce campus and build a new stadium on that site, allowing the existing venue to remain operational during construction. The other would retain the stadium broadly in its current position as part of a substantially renewed sport and entertainment precinct.

Neither Bruce option has been selected, and the master plan does not establish a stadium capacity, construction cost or delivery date.

Canberra’s city stadium debate stretches back much further. In 2022, a business-backed proposal outlined a 30,000-seat roofed stadium at the Civic Olympic Pool site, together with a convention centre and hotel.

That concept proposed a roof similar to Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium and an inverted seating bowl to address the restricted site footprint. The ACT Government subsequently pursued its preferred direction at Bruce.

The new Regatta Place proposal faces its own challenges. Chief Minister Andrew Barr previously said the Archbishop’s House site was unsuitable for development of that scale.

However, Planning Minister Chris Steel said on Wednesday the government would not immediately rule out the new idea and would meet with Byron. Transport access, crowd management, Commonwealth planning requirements and the relationship with proposed aquatic facilities would need to be examined.

Commonwealth approval would also be required to transfer the Catholic Church’s lease to a future stadium owner or operator.

Meanwhile, the Raiders and Brumbies remain based at GIO Stadium in Bruce. The 25,000-capacity venue opened as an athletics stadium in 1977 and underwent a major redevelopment ahead of the Sydney 2000 Olympics, but has had minimal investment since.