The Canberra Liberals have fired a shot in the battle of stadium letters, sending their own message to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to insist any funding for a new venue be applicable to multiple location options.
Liberals Leader Elizabeth Lee and federal senators David Pocock and Katy Gallagher weighed into Canberra's ongoing stadium debate on Monday after Chief Minister Andrew Barr formally requested a 50-50 spending split with the federal government.
Albanese's office referred questions about the stadium to Gallagher, who said the government would "consider further investments in the ACT" in the "usual way".
But Lee and Pocock were critical of the timing of Barr's request months before the ACT election, saying it was too late to be included in the federal budget this year and it still lacked a business case or exact location for plan to build at Bruce.
Lee is also seeking a guarantee that any agreement is not contingent on the stadium being built at Bruce and that the Liberals would have access to the same deal if they were to win government in October.
"If it has taken 15 years for Andrew Barr to write to the federal government to seek funding then let's hope the federal government doesn't take just as long to respond," Lee said.
"The Canberra Liberals have long advocated for the city as the preferred location for a Canberra stadium.
"I have written to the Prime Minister confirming that whilst we would of course welcome federal funding for this project, that the funding cannot be tied to a specific location that the funding must flow and the decision of the location of the stadium a decision for the ACT government of the day."
Barr is keen to fast-track plans to build a 30,000-seat stadium at Bruce by 2033, flagging it as a key part of his multi-use precinct with the North Canberra Hospital, CIT and the AIS. It is expected to cost at least $500 million.
Another study into the proposed stadium's exact location will be returned to the government by the end of the year. It's the seventh study that has - either in part or in full - examined possible locations and designs for a new stadium since 2009.
Barr says building a stadium at Bruce is the fastest and most cost-effective decision as he attempts to finally get the project out of the concept stage and into construction.
But the Canberra Liberals and Pocock wants Civic to remain on the agenda and the issue is set to become a divisive topic ahead of the ACT election later this year.
Pocock, who used the stadium as one of his key federal election campaign platforms two years ago, fears the ACT government has left it too late to launch its funding campaign.
"The ACT government has left it very late in the federal budget process to be writing now with a funding request of this magnitude, especially with time running out before the next federal election," Pocock said.
"Pre-budget submissions were due at the beginning of the year and that's when I submitted mine, which included a detailed proposal following extensive community consultation.
"What we need to see is a fully funded commitment, not fobbed off as just another election promise and I am concerned that time is running out to do that, even if the political will is there.
"We were told that having Labor governments at the territory and federal level would be good for Canberrans, but two years in we're just not seeing that on the ground."
The federal government commissioned a report into the future of the AIS campus at the end of last year. It rejected a $1 billion proposal to move the institute to Queensland and will instead focus on upgrading the facilities at the 64 hectare site in Bruce.
The stadium loosely falls into that category given it is still considered AIS infrastructure despite being predominantly used for Canberra sports and events.
The Canberra Times sought comment from the Finance Minister and ACT senator Katy Gallagher, but received a statement without any commitment or specific recognition of Mr Barr's letter.
"The ACT was neglected by the former [federal] Liberal-National government for the best part of 10 years," Gallagher said.
"The Albanese government is continuing to invest in Canberra and is working closely with the Barr government around the ACT's infrastructure priorities through the National Capital Investment Framework ... We'll consider further investments in the ACT in the usual way through our decision-making processes."
Many fears this is just another twist in the long stadium journey with no end in sight despite Barr revising his opening target to 2033.
Albanese has been aware of the stadium issue for some time after proponents of a Civic stadium directly contacted his office to seek support for a venue in the city.
Barr is seeking federal investment in light rail, a convention centre precinct in the city and upgrades to Manuka Oval on top of the partnership needed to build a new rectangular stadium.
Pocock is still pursuing a joint convention centre and stadium precinct in the city, adamant it has "huge spin-off benefits" for businesses and tourism.
"Pairing this with a new stadium in the city will deliver the biggest dividend for what will be a sizeable taxpayer investment and deliver the best end-user experience," Pocock said.
"A stadium-hospital precinct out at Bruce is not the ideal solution, seems inconsistent with what the vast majority of stakeholders want and will ultimately incur a huge lost opportunity cost for our city.
"It's disappointing to see this lack of progress on the stadium issue and a lack of compelling ideas being put forward for our city.
"I've been pushing these things since I was elected and will continue to do so. Every time I have raised it with federal ministers, I'm told that the prerequisite to any consideration of co-funding any projects in Canberra is receiving a request from the ACT government in the first instance.
"What I haven't done is held the government to ransom or horse-traded my vote in return for stadium funding because that's not what our community wants."
Lee said the stadium issue had become a "national embarrassment" after other cities around the country started consultation, design and construction before Canberra has a plan to replace its near 50-year-old venue.
"I think Canberrans have been taken for a ride for 15 years," Lee said.
"And it looks like under Andrew Barr's plan, no matter where [the stadium] is built, if it's built at all, is going to take another 10 years.
"The fact is there is a reason why cities around the world place their stadiums in the heart of the city."
Lee said the Liberals would announce a more detailed stadium plan in the lead up to the election in October. She expected a stadium in the city to cost between $500-$800 million.
