ACT govt looking to revamp stadium to help ACT Brumbies and Canberra Raiders

The three parties met on Thursday with the goal to make the aging stadium more attractive to fans.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr saw both clubs as keys to boosting tourism by luring more interstate fans to games.

There'll be a new video scoreboard at the northern end halfway through the season, with an updated one brought in to replace the current broken one until then.

TV screens around the grounds will also be upgraded.

Barr wanted to reduce the costs for families - potentially through cutting the price of food and beverages - but the details were yet to be finalised.

Ticket prices for the upcoming seasons - with the Brumbies' first home game against the Queensland Reds on March 11 and the Raiders' first against the Cronulla Sharks on March 19 - have already been set.

"The ACT government is working with the Brumbies and Raiders to make the game-day experience at [Canberra Stadium] even better, and attract more visitors to matches," Barr told The Canberra Times.

"We are investing in a new big screen and improvements to TV screens around the stadium.

"We are also reducing costs for families attending the footy by working with the Raiders and Brumbies, event-delivery partners and hirers.

"Further announcements on these initiatives will be made in the lead-up to season-opening games.

"The western forecourt at [Canberra Stadium] will be brought to life with food, music and entertainment, with a new family outdoor entertainment hub to further enhance the game-day experience.

MORE CANBERRA SPORT

"The government will also work with the football teams to promote home games to interstate audiences.

"This partnership will involve promoting game-day activity through social media, with local sporting heroes highlighting things to do in Canberra, and other promotional activities, helping to generate more tourism during the winter months.

"Encouraging more overnight stays is a key part of the ACT government's [tourism strategy], which aims to sustainably grow our visitor economy to $4 billion by 2030."

Brumbies chief executive Phil Thomson welcomed the initiative.

"We are very happy to work with the ACT government and [Canberra Stadium] in relation to how we can enhance the game-day experience and to look at ways in which we can potentially reduce costs for families to attend matches," he said.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.