The institute is revamping the AIS Arena as part of a plan to entice more events - sports, concerts, shows and functions - to generate more money which will be re-invested in athlete development.

The $200,000 floor, which appears white instead of traditional timber colouring, will be used for indoor sports but will be removed for concerts, ice-skating and potentially indoor equestrian events.

Australian Sports Commission general manager of corporate operations Steve Jones said the floor revamp would help attract more events during the year.

''The intent of our commercial activity is to support sport,'' Jones said. ''But you need to reinvest some of it to give you different capabilities. We want to grow revenue and business capabilities.

''We want to earn money to benefit sport and our target area in the short term is to the development of athletes.''

The AIS is in the middle of upgrading its facilities in an attempt to become a sporting hub.

AIS athletics was given a $1million makeover at the end of last year and the synthetic soccer pitch will be resurfaced this year.

The Arena hosts international basketball, futsal, volleyball and netball, but some concert promoters opt against using the venue because they can't drive forklifts on to the timber sport surface. ''It's more of an entertainment venue than a sports venue so we're trying to make it more flexible,'' Jones said. ''The biggest issue we've had is the parquetry [wood floor for sport], but it gets in the way of other events.

''Hopefully it means promoters won't be scared off and it broadens the scope of events we can market to.''

The new surface - which sits on top of the existing floor - was supposed to be used for the first time at the Canberra Capitals' WNBL clash against the Melbourne Boomers on Saturday.

But staff had to change back to the original surface on Friday because they didn't have sufficient floor markings for the match. It is hoped the line markings will be ready for the Capitals' next game on February 9.

In the coming months the 14-year-old parquetry floor will be removed to leave only concrete on the ground. It means the Arena can interchange from a sports venue to hosting concerts and functions without damaging the surface. Carpet tiles will be laid over the concrete for dinner functions, business events and some concerts.

It will also be easier for events such as Disney on Ice to be held in Canberra.

The new sports floor panels interlock and can be installed in a day.

Canberra Capitals centre Carley Mijovic said: ''We trained on the new court on [Thursday night]. It was different, it reminds me of the floors at world championships because they're just placed on and they're squishy.

''The ball bounces a bit differently, but we'll get used to it.''