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?
AIS Arena gathers dust
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 discussion to be had between the main tenants, which tends to be the ACT government, and the Commonwealth about the future," Mr Seselja said.
But ACT Sports Minister Yvette Berry labelled his comments as "ridiculous", arguing that because it was a Commonwealth facility, it was the Commonwealth who should pay for any necessary repairs.
"We do not own it or have any responsibility over its maintenance at all."
The issue came to a head last week, when Chief Minister Andrew Barr said it appeared that any resolution to the stalemate over who paid for the arena's upgrades would require a change of federal government.
And while the relevant parties fail to agree, the Capitals suffer.
Could a new stadium be the answer?
And, as the debate continues over upgrades to an indoor sporting arena for the national capital, Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has labelled the city's largest outdoor stadium the "worst" in the country.
While the AIS is suited to basketball, Canberra Stadium is the home of the Raiders, but neither is currently meeting the capital's sporting needs.
So, could scrapping the whole thing and building a new stadium to suit multiple sports and large events be the answer?
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, talks of a new stadium appeared to be gaining momentum.
In 2018, Mr Barr was in discussions as to whether to build a new stadium in the city or buy and redevelop Canberra Stadium.
"The order for the government: theatre, stadium, convention centre in terms of the big picture over the next five to 10 years," Mr Barr said in June 2018.
In 2019, the ACT government's Infrastructure Plan suggested Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC) could be the best possible option for a new stadium — connecting neatly to the city's new light rail route — but even then, it was listed as a "longer-term priority".
But that was three years ago and the ACT now finds itself in a trying financial situation due to the impact of COVID-19, with Chief Minister Andrew Barr recently admitting that a new stadium could not be a priority for his government anytime soon.
'Boutique' stadium proposed for Canberra's south
Senator Seselja this week suggested a possible solution to the city's stadium shortage, announcing he intended to upgrade Viking Park in Canberra's south to a "boutique" suburban stadium with 10,000 seats.
Canberra Stadium, by comparison, has a capacity of more than 25,000.
Senator Seselja has previously been supportive of building a new stadium, but now, ahead of the election, said it was "off the table", placing the blame with Mr Barr and arguing such an investment would need to be in collaboration with the ACT government.
"In the medium to long term, I've long been a proponent of a city stadium," he said.
Senator Seselja's pitch for a smaller stadium is a project that could help the Brumbies, whose crowd numbers have been dwindling for years, and W-League side Canberra United.
But as a smaller, rectangular, outdoor stadium, it would suit neither the Raiders nor the Canberra Capitals.
For David Pocock, a former rugby union player now running against Senator Seselja as an independent, an upgrade to Viking Park does not go far enough.
Mr Pocock has said he supported the reopening of the AIS, but also had expressed his desire to see a new stadium built on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin.
He said it was unacceptable the city did not have a facility suited to major sporting events.
"When it comes to federal infrastructure funding, Canberra has been missing out for too long."
He said Canberra also needed a new, larger convention centre to cater for shows and conferences, arguing the existing centre was no longer able to meet capacity and was turning away millions of dollars in business each year.
For Mr Pocock, the solution is a combined facility that would act as a sporting venue and as a convention centre.
Canberra's indoor venue shortage not a new issue
Since the AIS Arena closed, the Canberra Capitals have been playing many of their games at the city's National Convention Centre, but they're not the only team feeling the pinch.
Basketball teams have been vying for space due to a severe shortage of courts across Canberra for some time.
Those within the sport and representatives of Basketball ACT have reported that some junior players must train at 10:00pm on school nights and up to four teams are often forced to train at the same time on a single court.
Last year, Basketball ACT estimated it would need to find more than 50 hours of court space every week just to run competitions.
It has called on the ACT government to improve the situation.
And while the major players in contention for the Senate argue, only one thing is clear — the current state of play leaves everyone wanting.
