Canberra United are the City’s only A-League team. Photo: Michelle Heyman Facebook.
The quest for a major financial backer for an A-League licence in Canberra continues to be a source of ongoing speculation.
Canberra has been identified as a preferred location for an A-League team but supposed deadlines appear to come and go.
The sticking point is locking in a financial backer willing to stump up the $25 million fee for the licence followed by the required investment into running both the men’s and women’s A-League teams.
Not a month goes by without a rumour suggesting that a backer with deep pockets has been found and an announcement is imminent.
As the pattern goes, it is then followed by months of silence and the imminent announcement dies a natural death.
The lack of an ownership announcement, of course, continues the uncertainty over the future of the Canberra United women’s team, which is tied to the potential A-League men’s franchise.
As the only team in the women’s A-League that does not have a comparable men’s A-league side, Canberra United has been considered somewhat of an outlier. Capital Football has indicated it can’t continue running an A-League team.
That means until a backer for an A-League franchise in the ACT is found, the Canberra United team remains in limbo with the financial lifeline provided by the ACT Government unsustainable.
The prospect of a Canberra NBL franchise also remains cloudy with the NBL identifying the ACT as a potential region for expansion.
The Cannons were Canberra’s NBL team. This is the side from 1990. Photo: File.
Whether it happens is seemingly dependent on a venue with the capacity to host up to 8000 fans.
The new convention centre fits the bill but that is years down the track and the NBL would be required to take a punt on a potential venue, with the AIS Arena filling the void in the meantime.
The campaign for a Canberra men’s and women’s Big Bash franchise, led by Cricket ACT president Greg Boorer, is also in full flight but requires plenty of patience given opposition from a couple of existing teams including the Sydney Thunder, who regard the ACT as part of its catchment.
Canberra fans are primed and ready for a Big Bash team of their own. Photo: File.
What isn’t clear is the financial pre-requisite for a new franchise but Boorer believes his team has that covered along with the player depth and general support.
There also appears to be no timeline for an expansion of the Big Bash.
The timeline for a new stadium for the Raiders and Brumbies replacing the existing aging facility at Bruce is as endless as a piece of string.
The ACT Government appears to be in no hurry to build a new stadium, and as it continues to be delayed the cost continues to grow.
The worry is that the longer the delay, the chances are it will become cost prohibitive.
It seems to be getting more and more expensive with each new feasibility study, of which there have been plenty.
Personally, I’m not sure that there will be great progress on the Big Bash, A-League, NBL and a new stadium in 2026.
I hope I’m wrong.
