Canberra will continue to the be at the bottom of the list for major international acts unless a new, larger, indoor venue is built according to national promoter Michael Chugg.
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Speaking on the potential loss of AIS Arena as an entertainment venue in the ACT, Mr Chugg said he hadn't bought an act to AIS Arena "for years" because it was run-down and needed work.
But he said the main reason he didn't tour huge international acts in Canberra was because there wasn't a suitable venue.
Canberrans are still smarting after being left off global superstar Adele's touring schedule, and Mr Chugg - whose headliners include Dolly Parton, Coldplay and Robbie Williams - said this will continue to be the case.
He wanted to see a 7,000 seat indoor stadium in the ACT to make touring to Canberra "more financially viable".
"We did bring a lot of acts [to AIS Arena] back in the day - we did Sting, Santana, The Angels and 1927 and we did Australian Idol there a few years ago, but we don't do a hell of a lot in Canberra now unless we play the Royal Theatre," he said.
"I personally thought that [AIS Arena] was getting hard to use anyway."
Mr Chugg said there was no money to be made on venues the size of AIS Arena.
"A 5,000 capacity is really hard to make money out of with big international acts," he said.
"And it's not really 5,000 by the time you do sightlines and put in mixing desks - it cuts it back to 4,200 because you can't sell every seat. It's just too small.
"Canberra's a funny town - it can really hot for acts or it can be tough. I'd like to see a newer and bigger arena that makes people want to come, and makes acts want to play in it."
Plans to scrap concerts and turn AIS Arena into a specialised volleyball centre were revealed by Fairfax Media last Tuesday. If AIS Arena closes as an entertainment venue, it will leave a 27,500-seat gap between the Royal Theatre (2,500-seat capacity) and GIO Stadium (30,000-seat capacity). This is the exact gap Mr Chugg said needs to be addressed if international acts were to consider coming to the ACT.
Canberra Southern Cross Club CEO Ian Mackay said the club would be happy to "pick up the slack" if AIS Arena closed as an entertainment venue.
The club's line-up this year has included "blasts from the past" Belinda Carlisle, Eurogliders, Bananarama and Sheena Easton, but its auditorium is a good 3,500 seats shy of AIS Arena.
"If we thought we had the capacity for what the acts needed then, yes, we'd definitely pick up the slack," Mr Mackay said.
