The Hockey Centre at Lyneham almost hosted a velodrome. Photo: Jennifer Andrew.
In the mid-1990s, I was shown a proposal for a new velodrome to be built between the hockey centre and the tennis courts at Lyneham.
The new velodrome was planned to replace the existing one at Narrabundah, which, at the time, was deemed dangerous and exposed cyclists to the elements.
Needless to say, the proposal for the new velodrome didn’t get off the ground and all traces of the proposal disappeared into the ether, never to be mentioned again.
Narrabundah Velodrome: exposed to the elements and not entirely safe. Photo: Bundahdome Facebook page.
The ether, mind you, has become quite congested with unfulfilled sports facility proposals, filling it to the brink.
Another idea was shown to me in the late 1990s to build a 2000-metre rowing course adjacent to the Monaro Highway near the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
That proposal didn’t get past the discussion stage.
Nor did the plans floated to build a V8 Super Car circuit at Exhibition Park. This proposal had a brief public outing before the idea was effectively put to rest in 2023.
I was also shown plans to significantly expand the existing Lyneham netball complex to include more indoor courts alongside the existing stadium.
But the air went out of that balloon, and there has been little mention of it publicly in recent years.
There have, of course, been more substantial proposals for Canberra sports facilities that failed to materialise.
There was the dragway proposed for the Majura Valley, which had ACT Government funding but was later shelved.
The Throsby Home of Football concept was launched in 2019. The ACT Government committed $20 million to the proposed facility, which would serve as the new headquarters for soccer in Canberra, featuring multiple outdoor fields and indoor futsal courts.
In the end, Capital Football pulled out of the project after deciding they couldn’t afford the $4.5 million contribution they had originally pledged to build the facility.
A few years ago, the University of Canberra floated a proposal to build a 4000-seat indoor stadium with multiple courts to allow the Capitals to play home games on the campus as part of the University’s sports master plan.
At the time, UC put out the call for funding for the project, but there has been next to no mention of it since that original announcement.
One of the more ambitious proposals was the so-called Manuka Green concept, with plans for a commercial and residential development around Manuka Oval, which would be used to fund an upgrade of the stadium.
Manuka Oval and surrounds. Photo: File.
The unsolicited $800 million proposal from the GWS Giants and Grocon attracted significant opposition, and the revised plans submitted in 2019 were not approved either. The project was shelved.
Some proposals, such as the water-skiing and jet-skiing course on Lake Burley Griffin, had a short life.
In 2009, the ACT Government floated plans to build a 25,000-seat indoor stadium on the Civic Olympic Pool site for use by the Raiders and the Brumbies and potentially an A-League team.
Sixteen years later, that concept is dead, buried and cremated. We are back to where we started at the original Bruce Stadium.
With all these lost facilities in mind, it is with trepidation that I mention the proposed ice sports facility set down for Tuggeranong. We can only watch and hope.
