ACT Sports Minister Yvette Berry to hold meetings regarding future of AIS Arena

The AIS Arena will be central to those discussions, with the venue set to reopen in 2024 after receiving funding from the Labor Party in the recent federal budget.

The arena has been closed since 2020 when it was deemed unfit for use and the former government opted against providing the money required to allow sporting events to return. It was then turned into a COVID vaccination hub.

The closure had a flow-on effect to a number of sports in the ACT, in particular the Canberra Capitals. While they utilised the National Convention Centre for regular season games last summer, prior bookings forced the side to select Southern Cross Basketball Stadium as their finals home court.

Labor has provided the funds required to reopen the venue, but it remains 42-years old and officials understand a long-term plan for the site is required.

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The University of Canberra is planning a new sports hub that includes an arena that would become the permanent home for the Capitals.

ACT Sports Minister Yvette Berry was heavily critical of the decision to close the AIS Arena and she will meet with ASC chief executive Kieren Perkins to discuss the long-term plans for the venue and the entire Bruce site.

"We're always in conversation with the Sports Commission about their aspirations for the site and how they see it's future in the ACT," Berry said. "I know the Chief Minister has had conversations with Kieren Perkins, the CEO of the AIS and Sports Commission. We'll be having more conversations with him in the near future as well.

"We're keen to see the maintenance and upgrades being there so we can get sports back happening out there, particularly the Capitals.

"[We want to be] able to hold their games out there because when that arena is full, it really sings and we want to see our Capitals back playing there, having the community enjoying a really great facility."

More broadly, Berry is also working on a wider infrastructure plan for sporting facilities in the ACT. It comes after the government confirmed plans for an ice rink on Monday and female facilities last week.

"We're in the process of developing a strategy for sport in the ACT," she said. "We'll have an infrastructure plan which we'll announce with the ACT government next year."

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