It means Manuka could be used just six times a year while Canberra's cricket and Australian football competitions are exiled. Meanwhile, community sportsgrounds are bursting at the seams.

Clubs are crying out for places to play and train, while some of the government's enclosed facilities sit mostly dormant and are used only on weekends.

It's frustrating clubs, which face growing fees to play despite declining standards of fields and venues.

The issue is compounded by the biannual ground closure of all government venues, which forces clubs to use Lake Burley Griffin's parks as training venues because nowhere else is available.

Soccer is having trouble finding suitable grounds throughout the ACT, while rugby league is particularly struggling in Gungahlin and Tuggeranong.

The costs to hire facilities are also a concern, as they take up a massive proportion of clubs' annual budgets.

All this is happening with an emptying Manuka Oval.

Traditionally, Manuka Oval has lived a symbiotic existence, hosting local cricket and Australian football as well as elite cricket and AFL.

But costs and lack of access have seen both sports use Manuka less often. A complete move to the redeveloped Phillip Oval is on the cards as early as next year.

It could see Manuka Oval used just six times a year: three AFL matches, one AFL preseason fixture, an AFLW game and the Prime Minister's XI cricket match.

There's also the potential for a men's international cricket fixture – although there's no deal in place for any games beyond next summer's Test match – a Big Bash League clash, up to two WNCL games and women's international cricket, with some T20 World Cup games to be played there in 2020.

The Canberra Demons play five NEAFL games at Manuka this season, but will move to Phillip when its redevelopment is complete in July.

AFL Canberra and Cricket ACT look set to follow suit.

Demons vice-president Brian Quade said Manuka should be used more but it was becoming too expensive to hire and there were too many restrictions on its use for training.

"[Chief Minister] Andrew Barr has written back to the Canberra Demons saying it is being kept for elite sports ... we’ll go to Football Park and play the occasional one at Manuka," Quade said.

"Look at the MCG, they’re playing there on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We should use these facilities, [but] it is really expensive to hire Manuka."

The government said in a statement that, along with Cricket Australia and the AFL, it had made "a significant investment in Phillip Oval in Woden to provide a professional facility for local AFL and cricket teams".

"This joint investment has ensured local teams can continue to access the best sporting facilities," the statement read.

"The reality of Canberra attracting more international and domestic cricket and AFL is that use of Manuka Oval has increased. This has been supported and encouraged by cricket and AFL."

Basketball is booming in the ACT and it, too, is struggling to find enough courts.

Basketball ACT chief executive Michael Haynes reached out to schools to use their courts on top of Belconnen Basketball Stadium, Tuggeranong and the AIS.

"Our usage is only half the story. All our clubs, we’ve got 19 clubs, they all use courts — they use 300 to 400 hours of courts every week," Haynes said.

"It’s a real struggle, but the game is growing and we all love it so we do the best with what we can."

The boom in women's participation in the rugby codes and Australian football puts further pressure on facilities twofold.

Not only do the new teams need to find places to play and train, but change rooms are also a problem.

A lot of facilities aren't "female-friendly" – either for the players or officials – but the government has idenfitifed the problem. It has new design guidelines, with funds available through the sport and recreation grants program.

ACT Sports Minister Yvette Berry said: "The government also took extensive commitments around gender equity in sport to the 2016 election, including $500,000 to make facilities at community sportsgrounds more inclusive and female-friendly."

All government grounds are shut twice a year for maintenance from March 18 to 31 and September 17 to 30.

It means most clubs turn to gyms, schools, interstate grounds, Lake Burley Griffin's parks or unmaintained grounds that were shut due to the drought.

Canberra Region and Community Rugby League general manager Mark Vergano called for a staggered approach to closures.

He said a head start could be made when cricket and football finals started.

"We would like to see flexibility in the system ... maybe there can be some prioritised maintenance and that would allow them to come back a week or two earlier," Vergano said.

"Sports are looking for more flexibility within that process and would certainly encourage the government to keep reviewing that."

Rising costs are always an issue. Some Canberra Raiders Cup clubs spend $25,000 a year on ground hire.

The government has 880 individual hireable sporting fields to maintain across the ACT and Ms Berry said it covered a majority of the costs.

"The government funds about 86 per cent of the cost of maintaining sports grounds, with the remainder generated from user fees and charges," Berry said.