Cricket ACT's development programs are in danger of being scaled back because of a six-figure black hole stemming from yesterday's Prime Minister's XI washout.
More than $110,000 of ticket sales will be refunded after rain prevented a single ball being bowled in the match against Sri Lanka at Manuka Oval.
But the cost to Cricket ACT is substantially more. Cricket Australia policy states fans are entitled to their money back if there are fewer than 25 overs of play.
A crowd of about 6000 was expected based on pre-sales, with a low walk-up contingent owing to the weather.
Cricket ACT chief executive Mark Vergano said the loss of income would have a ripple effect on what services it provides.
''Any time you take $110,000 of public sales out, it's going to have an impact on the way we approach things,'' Vergano said.
''For an organisation our size it obviously places a strain on what we do and a strain in the sense we have so many programs that this match helps finance - costs of sending teams interstate, and doing the development work we do, because we do a lot of regional work.
''All that is potentially affected in some shape or form by something like this in the longer term.
''The game is not isolated in your budget, it's ongoing.
''I'm not necessarily saying it's slash and burn or anything like that, but obviously you take a close look at how you go about it.''
Cricket ACT foots the bill for all costs to stage the annual fixture, including hiring a video screen, building scaffolds and hiring security, with a large presence required to escort the Prime Minister.
''There's a lot of infrastructure that's not at Manuka that has to be imported and that adds to the cost of the game,'' Vergano said.
''That makes it a far more complex arrangement than some of the other grounds where that infrastructure is built in.''
Vergano said the excessive cost of rain insurance - at about $30,000 a pop - made it unfeasible to take out a policy. But he was confident Cricket ACT had the necessary funds to avoid requiring financial assistance.
''The board has been prudent by putting money away for days like this,'' he said. ''We're in reasonable shape, it just puts pressure on your budget and some of the decisions you have to make.''
Any cuts are not expected to have a noticeable impact on the ACT Comets or Meteors - the city's representatives in the Futures League (men) and the Women's National Cricket League.
''Probably not, they're our elite senior programs,'' Vergano said.
''You've just got to assess everything that you do and be creative, like we've always been.''
Yesterday's match was the third in the event's history to be washed out.
ACT Sports Minister Andrew Barr ruled out covering the costs incurred by the match.
''No, they've got their own arrangements around insurance for washouts,'' he said.
''Financially we support Cricket ACT obviously but in terms of this match but we don't have any involvement.
''I don't have any capacity to bail people out in that context.''
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