The cost of a new stadium in Civic could be close to $3 billion, the ACT government has revealed in a set of figures significantly higher than previous estimates.
The government says the price of a new 30,000-seat city stadium with minimal surrounding infrastructure on the Civic pool site would sit between $2.128 billion and $2.9 billion.
The figure represents a hike of almost 400 per cent on a cost estimate of $582 million presented in a 2021 feasibility study for a city centre stadium.
The government's preferred option of a new stadium on a new site at Bruce would cost between $1.339 billion and $1.869 billion.
An updated infrastructure plan, released earlier this year, estimated the cost of a "new or enhanced Canberra Stadium" to be upwards of $500 million.
A major refurbishment of Canberra Stadium would cost between $1.163 billion and $1.194 billion.
ACT Sports Minister Yvette Berry said there had been considerable cost escalations in the construction sector.
"An investment of this size would bring the stadium (completed in 1977) up to the current code, with minor cosmetic and operational improvements," Ms Berry said.
"This would include improvements to hospitality areas, all bathrooms and amenities, upgrades to patron seating and the inclusion of a new multi-story carpark."
Ms Berry provided the figures in answer to a question taken on notice in the Legislative Assembly, published on Monday afternoon.
The government's assumptions for new stadiums include a 30,000-seat capacity, changes to local roads as required and a 108,000-square-metre multi-storey car park.
"For security reasons, an underground carpark would not be built underneath a stadium," Ms Berry said.
"Therefore, the cost of the Civic option includes the construction costs for car park(s) on one or more alternate sites, but the cost of acquiring the land for this purpose cannot yet be quantified and has therefore not been included."
The assumptions include a 100 per cent drip line roof for the lower bound, and a retractable roof for the higher bound.
The figures are significantly higher than previous cost estimates the ACT government has released for stadium projects.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr in May 2023 said: "We are not going down the folly of a billion-dollar-plus stadium. We will not be spending that sort of money on a football stadium, I can make that clear."
An infrastructure plan update released this year said early studies for a stadium on the Civic pool site had been promising but further analysis found it was not feasible.
The plan said a city stadium would have a "poor game day experience and atmosphere for patrons, teams, nearby residents and the broader ACT community".
Ms Berry's answer pointed to the increased costs on other stadium projects and proposals in Australia as indicative of the price pressures in the sector.
"For example, a proposal to substantially renovate the Gabba in Brisbane and bring its capacity up to 50,000 seats ahead of the 2032 Olympics was first announced in 2021 with an estimated cost of around $1 billion. In November 2023 the estimated cost had risen to $2.7 billion with minimal expansion in scope," she said.
"New stadium builds have also risen in costs substantially. When considering its options, the Queensland government also considered building a new 50,000 stadium on at a greenfield site (Victoria Park). Initial estimates put the cost for this between $3.0 and $3.4 billion.
"Similarly, the Tasmanian government announced in 2023 it would build a 23,000 seat stadium at a cost of $715 million, but has since admitted the stadium cannot be built for that amount. An updated costing has not yet been released."
Perth Stadium, which opened in 2018, cost $1.6 billion and seats 60,000 spectators. The Parramatta Stadium knock-down-rebuild project seats 30,000 and cost $360 million.
Sydney Football Stadium at Moore Park was completed for $828 million and opened in 2022, higher than its original budget of around $636 million.
