Investment company Cruachan put forward a detailed proposal earlier this year, and alongside development partner Pelligra they will design, construct, own, operate and maintain the new facility built on Rowland Rees Crescent in Greenway which includes two world-class ice rinks and curling sheets.

The centre has been a long time coming for ice sports in Australia that have long been bereft of top quality facilities.

Highlighting the extent of the issue, for years the Australian national championships have been held at the nearest international standard curling sheets - near Queenstown in New Zealand.

The ACT government's commitment comes after nearly a decade of campaigning from the ice sports community in the capital, but the timeline for the facility's completion is yet to be confirmed.

It will be a steep upgrade from the current home of ice sports in Canberra at Phillip which opened in 1980, and nationally it's already attracting athletes and coaches to relocate to the region.

"We've been in touch with a number of people at the elite level in ice sports that are already saying they're seriously thinking about moving to Canberra to use this facility because they spend months and months overseas having to train," ACT Ice Sports Federation president Tony Prescott said.

For top Australian curler Matt Millikin the news couldn't be more fortuitous, after he made Canberra his home just this year working as a high school teacher.

The 26-year-old former men's national squad member is similarly hearing of Canberra becoming the centre for ice sports in Australia after news of the greenlit Tuggeranong venue spread around the country.

"I've already talked to quite a few people in curling that are looking at houses, ready to go," Millikin said. "It's an awesome opportunity and it also allows curling to grow from a grassroots level too.

"All of that will feed up into high performance and that should be of interest for the Australian Olympic Committee, especially after curlers Dean Hewitt and Tahli Gill qualified for the last Winter Games.

"It'd be great to add more teams to that Olympic program for Australia."

The vision is for the new facility to become a national centre of excellence, and with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) also in Canberra, it could lead to a national boost in athletes in Winter Olympics disciplines.

"We're absolutely keen to explore that," Prescott said. "We see that as a massive opportunity with a facility of this magnitude and the AIS just up the road - it creates all sorts of opportunities here."

Steven Bradbury made speed skating famous in Australia when he won gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics, but like other ice sports, few athletes can work on their craft on home soil.

With a dedicated rink in Canberra the sport now has a greater opportunity to grow, according to former top Dutch speed skater Jay Overvliet.

"It's about time that we set up some speed skating in Canberra," the ACT resident said.

"Having this facility with the AIS all in Canberra, and it's going to be great. It's just a massive step forward towards having serious representation of the sport here.

"Within a few years there'll be some really good talent coming up."

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