Bruce Precinct Master Plan Sparks Debate Over Canberra Stadium Future

A new plan for the future of Canberra's Bruce precinct has been met with mixed reactions.

The suburb of Bruce is 15 minutes north of Canberra's CBD and home to North Canberra Hospital, the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), the Canberra Stadium, and a Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) campus, as well as medium-density dwellings.

But a 138-page Bruce Precinct Master Plan, written by consultants Hatch and Stantec and paid for by the federal government as part of a $10-million-dollar funding package, has been slammed as "a plan to make a plan".

"They don't provide a detailed business case or delivery plan. They don't resolve the Commonwealth-ACT government land issues. There's no costs. There's no implementation timetable," Independent ACT senator David Pocock said.

But Senator Pocock's concerns over the plan's price tag were swiftly rebuffed by ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr.

"The $10 million extends beyond the master plan work," Mr Barr told 666 ABC Canberra.

He said the report had cost about $4 million while $6 million had already been set aside for stadium upgrades.

"It's a complete replacement of the field-of-play lighting, an upgrade of public amenities at the venue, including the bathroom facilities, seating and lifts in the grandstands," Mr Barr said.

A perennial Canberra question

In March, Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart unleashed his latest criticism of the state of his team's home venue, labelling it a "s***house stadium" after his Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs counterpart sliced his hand open.

The Raiders coach is among many Canberrans who have long asked: What's next for Bruce Stadium?

The ACT government had long ago quashed hopes for a new rectangular stadium to be built in the city, saying that the prospect of a new stadium in Civic had been "thoroughly explored".

The Bruce Precinct Master Plan has offered two scenarios for a new stadium: building it in the same spot or putting it on the CIT campus.

The report does not suggest a preferred outcome.

And while some could see that as indecision, Mr Barr said it meant site options had now been drastically narrowed down to only two choices.

"The decision on this would be made towards the end of this decade and construction in the 2030s," he said.

Mr Barr said out of all the major infrastructure in the Bruce precinct, the stadium was not the highest priority.

"Health, education, housing, transport, and then we get to the sports facilities," he answered.

The release of the master plan was timed with ACT Labor Senator Katy Gallagher and others speaking at the AIS about work getting underway, which the Commonwealth had already announced funding for more than two years ago.

$250 million had been earmarked for AIS accommodation, a sports dome and a new training centre.