ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has revealed a bold ambition to host Test cricket at Manuka Oval every four years despite the capital being snubbed by Cricket Australia in the 2017-18 schedule.
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Barr will meet with Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland in Sydney next month to renegotiate the terms of a four-year deal to have the Australian team play at Manuka Oval every year until 2019.
Canberra cricket fans were left baffled and infuriated earlier this week when Cricket Australia left the capital out of its schedule for next summer, breaking a lucrative deal after just two years.
Barr insisted Canberra could benefit from the schedule bungle and was adamant criticising Cricket Australia would only damage a long-term relationship.
The leading option for replacement content in Canberra was a Big Bash League game, but Barr has also detailed his vision for Manuka Oval become a regular Test venue.
"My preference is to get something in next summer and then extend the agreement to look towards the long term," Barr told Fairfax Media.
"Ultimately I'd love to lock in a Test match every four years or so, that would be a fantastic outcome.
"But the other reality here is that the venue will need to progressively improved. There won't be a 'big bang' at Manuka, it will be gradual improvements.
"Canberra's preference might be for a variety in the cricket content here. We'll know a bit more in the New Year after I meet with James."
Manuka Oval will host its first Test when Australia plays against Sri Lanka in the 2018-19 summer. The venue will need a facelift over the next 18 months to get it up to industry standard.
The construction work will not be able to completed during winter, with the GWS Giants playing three AFL premiership games at Manuka Oval every year.
There is only a small window to do the work, and forgoing a big-ticket cricket item next year could open the window for the upgrade.
"We have to look at the scheduling of fixtures anyway because we have to make some further improvements to the venue anyway, and there will be time when Manuka is unavailable anyway," Barr said.
"That's the other piece in the puzzle — we've signed up for a Test match [in 2018-19] so we have to be ready for that and it's a priority."
Barr also met with NRL boss Todd Greenberg this week and it is believed the capital is on the verge of securing the rights to host the last Anzac Test between Australia and New Zealand next year.
Government officials were happy to negotiate with Cricket Australia, despite losing the prestige of having the Australian team play in Canberra next year.
The one-day international fixture could be replaced by a Big Bash game, with the booming Twenty20 format likely to attract a similar crowd.
However, securing hosting rights to a Big Bash package would likely be dependant on the competition expanding to include more games.
Barr told the Legislative Assembly this week: "[Cricket Australia] advised me of the challenges and indicated that we would need to have a discussion around options.
"I indicated that I was interested in the long-term relationship with Cricket Australia and looked forward to what options Cricket Australia could bring forward for the territory.
"I think it is to our long-term benefit to have an ongoing and long-term relationship."
The government will not budge on its requirement that Cricket Australia finds suitable content for Canberra's cricket calendar. The other option is no content in 2017-18 and extending the current deal to 2019-20.
The government will not reduce its financial commitment if suitable content is agreed on.
"There's certainly no issue with crowd numbers [at Manuka Oval] or support for cricket here," Barr said.
"Cricket Australia wants to do more in Canberra, which is in contrast to some other sports. The Test is on the horizon and I think the Prime Minister's XI with the new format is a good thing."
