Canberra is not big enough to support two stadiums so a multi-sport venue should be on the ACT government's agenda.
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That's the opinion of highly regarded Canberra sports historian Greg Blood, who submitted a proposal to the federal government's joint committee on the national capital's inquiry into the future of the ACT.
He felt any new stadium should be able to accommodate the ACT Brumbies, Canberra Raiders and an A-League team, plus become the home of AFL and cricket.
It would need to be covered, as well as have retractable seating to be able to switch between the rectangular and oval codes.
Blood said the ACT government's stadium strategy needed to be long-term and should cater for Canberra's estimated 2060 population of 900,000.
It's why he was pushing for a 30,000-40,000-seat stadium, given it was a "once in 50 years" development.
Blood felt the chance of a Civic Stadium died when land earmarked for a national stadium in Turner was given to ANU more than 70 years ago, with Canberra Racing's Thoroughbred Park or the Exhibition Park showgrounds his preferred location.
![Should Canberra's new stadium be at either Thoroughbred Park or the showgrounds? Should Canberra's new stadium be at either Thoroughbred Park or the showgrounds?](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/6c90cf5a-0940-48f0-9a2c-9f3cbd92e49e.jpg/r3_0_1198_672_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
That would see the race track and showgrounds move to the CSIRO Ginninderra site on the Barton Highway.
Otherwise, he felt the eastern carpark of the current Canberra Stadium was the next best option.
It won't be music to the ears of South Canberrans, with a recent push for Woden to be considered for the stadium site.
The government's been investigating a new stadium since 2009 and was onto their seventh study in that 15-year period.
They've given up on a Civic Stadium and have instead focused on a new venue in Bruce.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr recently revealed their shock new preferred site on Haydon Drive - the old Raiders HQ on the corner of Battye Street.
They're doing their technical due diligence to see if that site would be viable as part of a Canberra Institute of Technology revamp.
But Blood said they should be looking to incorporate the outdated facilities at Manuka Oval as well.
"My view is we can only afford one stadium so it should be designed to cater for cricket, AFL, rugby league and rugby union then you're going to get a lot more use," he said.
"Manuka Oval is a very poor standard with a lot of portable toilets and on the eastern side there's no coverage.
"We really need a stadium that's used nearly every week to justify any cost because even Bruce Stadium now it's probably used 20-25 times a year."
He agreed the Civic pool site was too small for a stadium and backed the government's plan to have an indoor arena for basketball, netball and concerts instead.
"You could actually have a pool and have a convention centre or an indoor stadium of 6000-7000 above the pool," Blood said.
"That's maximising that space. It also has the ability of bringing people into the city.
"If you get the right size we're likely to attract more concerts and other things."
Blood's theory was about maximising the use of land and felt a stadium in the showground and racecourse precinct would do that.
The tram goes past it, while there's also major roads leading there.
![The ACT government says there are three viable options in Bruce - old Raiders HQ, the current site and the eastern carpark at the current site. The ACT government says there are three viable options in Bruce - old Raiders HQ, the current site and the eastern carpark at the current site.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/31454cd8-5b46-4bd7-9e8f-df4de3202e80.png/r0_0_1200_675_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Blood also suggested relocating facilities like the trotting track from the showground to the racetrack, which could free up the showgrounds for the stadium so the racetrack remained where it was.
"There are a few issues in Bruce so if you go out to Exhibition Park there's so much land there that's really underutilised most of the time," he said.
"That's where I thought you could really put the new stadium - at the racecourse or at Exhibition Park.
"Then where would both of those go? Well there's all that land on the Barton Highway as you're leaving [Canberra].
![ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has given up on a Civic Stadium. ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has given up on a Civic Stadium.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/6bf8c68c-0e8b-45ce-9f0f-dac134464bb9.jpg/r0_228_5392_3260_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"There's all that CSIRO land, which the former federal government was offering to the ACT.
"I reckon you could build a new racecourse, combining a showground, so that those things could be better utilised."