Canberra's pie price hike: Why cost of stadium footy food is hitting fans hard

Remember when ACT Sport Minister Yvette Berry trumpeted cut-price deals on footy favourites at Canberra Stadium and said it was a win for the fans?

The changes have only lasted one season with costs of food and drinks at Canberra Raiders and ACT Brumbies games rising from last year's mark.

The ACT government dropped the price of five items by $1 to bring them under the $5 mark last year. Price cuts were supposed to be a relief for families feeling the pain of constant interest rate hikes and the rising cost of living.

But now prices for meat pies, sausage rolls, hot chips, hot dogs and soft drinks have all risen to $5 this year, while you'll fork out an alarming $5.90 for water. Beers range from $9.80 to $13.40.

The government is still intent on keeping the five key footy foods at $5 and the current prices are still considered good value when compared to other venues around the country.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart praised stadium officials - which is mainly made up of Venues Canberra staff - during his post-game rant about the stench in the change rooms and the "absolutely crap" delays in building a new stadium.

We hear those same stadium officials are doing everything in their power to make the game-day experience as best as it can possibly be, but they need help from the government.

For example, the stadium needed to jump through hoops to get an exemption to keep their pies and sausage rolls in plastic wrappers because of the attempts to ban all plastics at the venue.

Wonder where those little sauce packets have gone? Yep, another victim of the plastic ban. But at least that means you don't have to pay for it any more.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr argued last year that Canberrans should be careful what they wish for when seeking a new stadium with all the bells and whistles. A sparkling, new venue, he said, would force ticket and food prices up.

So let's compare Canberra Stadium to Docklands in Melbourne - the AFL-owned venue. They've got pies and chips for $4.50 and a hot dog for $6.

When the new $828 million Sydney Football Stadium opened a couple of years ago, the equivalent pie and hot dog was $6.50. More expensive? Yes. But have you seen their stadium? We'd pay $1.50 more for that.

How much will it cost you to take a family of four to Canberra Stadium?

If you're heading to watch the Brumbies double-header on Friday night, the cheapest general admission ticket option for a family of four is $65. Throw in two pies, two buckets of chips, a water, a soft drink and two of the cheaper beers and we're looking at $115.50.

The same amount of food and tickets for a family of four - which start at $95 - at a Raiders game brings the total to $145.50.

You can take your own food, and memberships will make your tickets cheaper.

But adding more than a dollar to the cost of the same hot chips and soft drinks is hardly a win for the punters.

Cost of food and drinks aside, the stench at Canberra Stadium was always going to spark new talk about the city's biggest venue when the Raiders had to hold their noses before and after their win against the Tigers.

Our friends at The Greenhouse - the Raiders' main supporter group - highlighted a Barr comment to David Polkinghorne from back in 2014, when Barr was relinquishing his sport portfolio but keeping venues and major events.

He said at the time: "It will be a poor outcome for the city if by the mid-2020s we have not replaced Canberra Stadium, because it will be 50 years old and it will be at the end of its useful life.

"If Canberra wants to have teams in national competitions, we need to have the appropriate level of infrastructure to support that, and we've got to be thinking about how best to deliver that. It's got to be done. I'm very firmly of the view that has to happen."

So here we are in - checks watch - yep, the mid-2020s. And a stadium is ... still a pipe dream.

Good things still do happen at Canberra Stadium, and we shouldn't let the debate about the venue's future distract us from those.

The staff at the stadium do a great job and the field is always in top shape (many coaches reckon it's the best in Australia). And there's good stuff happening with the fans, too. Locker Room's old mate Elliot Woods (he appeared in our pages multiple times a decade or so ago, one time for busting a hole in his pants at a Brumbies press conference) lost his Raiders membership pass after the game on Saturday.

Social media to the rescue! A fan found his pass and posted a message in Raiders supporter groups to find Elliot. The pass has been returned, and all is good in the world again.

While we're talking stadium, more than 20,000 people are expected to turn up for the Socceroos' FIFA World Cup qualifier next week.

The problem? Officials are worried they'll be stuck in traffic at kick-off.

Fans are being encouraged to arrive early for Australia's clash with Lebanon, with those heading to the Tuesday night fixture set to hit peak-hour traffic on the way to Bruce.

Lewis Holland is trading Braidwood for Buckingham Palace.

The former Australian sevens captain is set to wear a gold jersey again - this time for the Australian Stockman regional team.

Holland - who has run a property in Queensland with partner and sevens star Charlotte Caslick - grew up in Braidwood and joins Queanbeyan Whites duo Oscar Cunningham and Riley Turner in the squad. Former Wallabies and Queensland Reds assistant coach Jim McKay will take the reins of the Australian Stockman when they head abroad in October for four matches against English club sides.

"We're looking forward to taking country rugby from the bush to Buckingham as we do our best to represent country Australia on and off the field," McKay said.

Canberra rugby legend Louise Burrows announced her retirement this week. Consider this for a second: She was still playing as a 45-year-old and was one of the best hookers in Australia up until the day she stopped.

The Brumbies will celebrate her career at the stadium on Friday, with the club's Super Rugby Women's side to face the Melbourne Rebels, and champion Joe Roff joined the flood of tributes.

"What a career and legacy," Roff commented on the story about Burrows' retirement.

"Great example as to why we punch above our weight here in Canberra and will continue to have such an important place in the rugby ecosystem. Congratulations Lou; time to join us in the knackery."

Burrows played for Australia at four World Cups and represented ACT and Brumbies teams more than 150 times after making her first representative team in 1995. Some career, "Cookie".

The Canberra Cavalry have locked in a new manager - and Jim Bennett has wasted no time in declaring "it's time to bring that winning culture to Canberra".

Bennett replaces Keith Ward at the helm following a stint in the United States as manager of the Lake Country Dockhounds.

But more pressing for the Cavalry is his success in the ABL - which includes five consecutive Claxton Shield wins from 2014-15 to 2018-19 in stints with the Perth Heat and Brisbane Bandits.

"Ownership has expressed the desire to win and have already shown me great support. I've had the privilege of being a part of five consecutive Claxton Shields. It's time to bring that winning culture to Canberra," Bennett said.

Bennett has served as the pitching coach for Team Australia and helped lead the national side to an historic second-round appearance in the WBSC.

He has also spent three decades working with a number of Major League organisations.

"Jim Bennett's appointment marks an exciting new chapter for the Canberra Cavalry," Cavalry official Adrian Dart said.

"His knowledge of the game, along with his strategic vision make him the ideal team manager to lead our team as we pursue excellence in the upcoming season and into the future."

Some of you might have seen our feature last week about some of the greatest Canberra teams in history. We put the 1994 Canberra Raiders up against the 2004 ACT Brumbies to see who would win as both celebrate significant premiership anniversaries this year.

Who won the poll on The Canberra Times site? Big Mal Meninga and the Raiders. And they did in the same style they beat opponents last year - smashing the poll to get 67 per cent of the votes.

For Brumbies fans keen to swing it back in rugby's favour, you can still vote below.