How a sports stadium became a federal election issue for Canberra

It may be the national capital, but Canberra is woefully lacking when it comes to major sporting facilities.

On this, everyone is agreed, with contenders for one of the ACT's senate seats this week making it clear that they would take it on as a federal election issue.

Liberal Senator Zed Seselja has said he wants to expand Viking Park in Canberra's south, adding 10,000 seats, while former rugby union player David Pocock — who is vying for his seat — believes a stadium in the city centre would be a more suitable facility to develop.

Meanwhile, the ACT government remains in a deadlock with the Commonwealth over who should pay for an upgrade to city's largest indoor sporting arena.

So, how did we get here and what are the possible solutions to protect Canberra's pride within a nation that takes its sport so seriously?

In 2020, the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Arena in Bruce, in the city's north-west, was closed for major sporting events and concerts and is now only being used as the site for mass COVID-19 vaccinations.

The arena was once a hub of activity for some of the nation's greatest athletes, but concerns about fire safety forced its indefinite closure.

In the time since, the federal and ACT governments have disagreed over who should fund repairs to the facility.

That has left the Canberra Capitals, the city's basketball team, without a proper home, forcing them to train at inferior community facilities and to play their semi-finals at the significantly smaller Tuggeranong Stadium.

Earlier this month, Liberal Senator Zed Seselja said the ACT government needed to «come to the table» when it came to funding repairs to the Commonwealth-owned AIS Arena.

«Where there are Commonwealth facilities involved then there is a