ACT Sports Minister's media availability announcing Tuggeranong ice sports facility project cancellation

7 September 2026

The following is an ACT Ice Sports Federation-produced transcript arising from ACT Sports Minister Chris Steel's media doorstop at the Legislative Assembly on 7 September announcing the government's cancellation of the twin-ice sheet facility project slated for Greenway in Tuggeranong.

Media doorstop 7 Sept 2026

Chris Steel MLA, ACT Minister for Sport

Minister: Unfortunately, there were a range of unacceptable risks, and the updated proposal that was provided to the ACT government in January did not represent value for money for the ACT government. As a result, we won't be moving forward … This is, of course, an incredibly disappointing announcement for representatives of our ice sports community, who have really supported and championed this proposal for an ice sports facility in Tuggeranong. But it's also disappointing to the broader Tuggeranong community and for the government. The ACT government came to the table ready and willing to make sure that this facility was built. We put money on the table, $16.2 million, and we had a strong desire to see this vision realised for our new twin-sheet facility in Tuggeranong. Unfortunately, as a result of the tender process being unacceptable to government and not representing value for money, we can't proceed with that. I've written to representatives of the ACT Ice Sports Federation today and committed to them now that the tender process has been finalised, that we'll sit down and make sure that we work with them on further opportunities to make sure that we can improve ice sports facilities here in the ACT. I've also committed to the Tuggeranong community that dollar for dollar, the $16.265 million will go back into upgrading sport and recreation facilities in Tuggeranong. So this investment will not be lost to Tuggeranong; the investment will go back into Tuggeranong to improve sporting infrastructure.And today I've also released, through the Chief Minister and Economic Development Directorate, Sport and Recreation, a survey that will be provided to all clubs around the ACT to help inform the government of their infrastructure needs. That will be used particularly for responses from the clubs from Tuggeranong to help inform a package of investment that will go into Tuggeranong’s sporting facilities, dollar for dollar…

Journalist: Well, you got this new proposal, this new arrangement in January, and now we're here in September. Why was that decision made? When was it made?

Minister: So the tender evaluation has been occurring since the updated proposal was provided in January, and that concluded recently, and now we're making the announcement about the outcome of that tender evaluation. This is a process that has been going on for a long time, since 2019, and we have tried to work constructively with the shortlisted proponents through the expression of interest process, firstly to come to a non-binding agreement and then move towards a binding agreement. We haven't been able to achieve that binding agreement because the updated proposal presented far too many unacceptable risks for the Territory and didn't represent value for money based on the assessment.

Journalist: How much were they asking for?

Minister: So they were asking for more than double the Territory's contribution to the project, and that was one of the factors that led to the proposal being deemed not to be valuable. The Territory had made a commitment of $16.265 million to the project, and the project's proponents had made some later proposal asking for more than double that contribution.

Journalist: Has the government brought this process (onto itself): one going to Tuggeranong and then choosing a site in Tuggeranong that's problematic?

Minister: No, I think not. We were on board with Tuggeranong, the ice sports community was on board with Tuggeranong, and the Tuggeranong community were on board for making this investment for Tuggeranong. We worked at every stage constructively with the proponents to make it happen, but ultimately the proposal presented far too many risks, and so we can't proceed with it, but we will still be making sure that this investment goes into Tuggeranong with a commitment of that $16.2 billion back to run the sporting infrastructure upgrades.

Journalist: Do you think that's led by the private sector partners?

Minister: Look, obviously when you go out through a tender process, expression of interest process, it enables multiple different organisations to come forward to help us to deliver infrastructure for the Territory. We actually worked constructively throughout the period to try and achieve the mission of this new ice sports facility. The proposal did change over time, and ultimately what was presented in the final updated proposal just simply had too many risks to the territory. It asked for a greater contribution than what was sought in the past, and it didn't represent value for money. So now we will need to continue to work with our ice sports community on what the next steps are and what other opportunities there are to improve ice sport facilities in the ACT. It's important to note that on the current Phillip site, the requirement for an ice skating facility that meets national competition standards still remains.

Journalist: Talking about that ice sport community, what exactly does this announcement mean for ice sports?

Minister: We'll still have a facility in Phillip, and the requirement in the Territory Plan and the lease will still remain on that site, but we'll need to work with the ice sports community on what other opportunities there are. Now obviously there's been a lot that's happened since 2019, and our ice sports community we've seen—the Canberra Brave move to the AIS arena to provide spectators of up to 4,000 people. That has gone well beyond what was ever proposed in the facility originally. But what we do know is that there's still a need there, maybe not at the elite level but at other levels for other ice sports to make sure that we've got improved facilities. The existing facility at Phillip is ageing, and whilst there's still a requirement to have that facility on site, I think there is a need to look at what else we can do to improve ice sports facilities, and the sport and recreation directorate team will work with the ice sports community now that the tender has been closed for Tuggeranong.

Journalist: What level of commitment is the government prepared to make to the ice sports community? Are you prepared to commit financially?

Minister: Well it depends on the proposal, and we've already seen the BRAVE come forward and suggest that they need an even larger facility than what they have at AIS, which is the largest in the country, to support their needs. We want to work with the ice sports community to understand what their needs are and what opportunities there could be to make sure that they have the facilities that are required now and into the future. There's a range of sports there, not just ice hockey, ice skating, curling.

Journalist: What kind of pull does the government have when it comes to investing, or getting, asking Geocon to invest and upgrade Phillip Ice Skating? It's a requirement on the Phillip site. But I suppose the site is ageing at the moment.

Minister: You have to ask them about what their future plans are, but I think this gives everyone a good interest in ice sports, as you said. The facility in Tuggeranong will not be perceived as it was proposed, and so we can now start exploring what those opportunities are on other sites.

Journalist: Will you be advocating to Geocon to invest in it?

Minister: Of course, you know it would be great to see private investment into these facilities, and that was what was proposed here through a combination of government investment and private investment into building that Tuggeranong ice sports facility that will provide two sheets of competition size to be able to support our ice sports community, not just hockey but a range of other ice sports as well. So we hope that there'd be interest potentially in delivering something, whether that's at the current site of Phillip or another site.

Journalist: Is this a decision you've had to make as Sports Minister or is it one that you've inherited from your predecessor?

Minister: Well these tender evaluations are done at arm's length by officials within the government, and of course that's an important process, and they have to consider the value of money as part of the undertaking. And so it's obviously disappointing with the outcomes of those evaluations, being that we can't proceed with an infrastructure project like this. But it will provide certainty that we can now move forward and look at other opportunities.

Journalist: So just to be clear, whose decision is this? Is this a recommendation that's come from the public service?. Is that something a minister signs off on? And which minister did?Minister: Well, obviously I've only just taken on the sport portfolio. So yes, the evaluation was provided to government, and the previous minister was briefed on that as I was coming into the role, and I'm now making an announcement about the outcome of that tender, which has found that there were unacceptable risks, it's not value for money, and that we need to move forward.

Journalist: Is that right?

Minister: Well this is based on a tender evaluation that's been undertaken by officials, and I'm happy for officials to come forward. Rebecca (Kelly), if you want to say a few words about the process that you undertook.

Journalist: I am keen to know why it's taken so long … Can you run us through the process of how we've come here today?

Rebecca Kelley (Executive Branch Manager of Sport Recreation): Yes, certainly. So, as the minister mentioned, in January we received an updated detailed proposal from the proponents, Cruachan and Pelligra, and that then went through a formal evaluation process in the same way that the original proposal … went through. The determination of the evaluation panel through that process was that there is a lot of …

Journalist: When did that recommendation come in?

Kelley: The evaluation process began in April, and it's been under careful consideration since then.

Journalist: I guess how, I guess why did it take since April …

Minister: So once the tender evaluation panel provided their recommendations (and) for commercial and private reasons I can't go into detail about the tender evaluation, but there were a range of unacceptable risks, and they did not all relate to the cost of the proposal. So the cost was a factor in valuation and finding that it was not value for money with the request for more than doubling the Territory contribution… but there are a range of other unacceptable matters … as well.

Journalist: We've spent a lot of time talking about sports infrastructure in the ACT …certainly my colleagues in the sports department would say 20 years of talks about a new stadium and now this. Does the ACT government have to rebuild trust that it can deliver sports infrastructure?

Minister: Well, we're delivering infrastructure right across the territory at the moment. We're proceeding with a range of sporting infrastructure projects. We came to the table here with a real willingness to see this project succeed. We put money on the table and we went through a proper tender process to get the project underway. It's disappointing for us as much as it is for the ice sports and the broader community that we haven't got the outcome that we hoped for. We committed in the election to work with the company to get this proposal underway, and we've done that this term, but it hasn't resulted in the outcome that we hoped for.

Journalist: Would you go back to Tuggeranong if another proposal came through or would you look at a more central site?

Minister: We will consider any proposal to come forward to government, but when we went out for this proposal it was to build a Tuggeranong ice sports facility in Tuggeranong, not elsewhere.

Journalist: How long do you expect Geocon to hang onto that (Phillip I ice rink) site?Minister: It's a requirement of the Territory Plan.

Journalist: Do you anticipate the future will be more investment into making Phillip shiny and new again? Or do you anticipate that it will be another site that you'll have to find a way?

Minister: I'm not announcing … I'm announcing the outcome of a tender evaluation for the Tuggeranong Ice Sports Facility, which will not proceed. So this will give certainty to those who have an interest in ice sports in the ACT to potentially come forward and discuss other opportunities with the government. We're open to have those discussions. In fact, we have a representative here from our Ice Sports Federation who can say what he thinks.

Journalist: I just want to ask, why should taxpayers fund an ice sports facility?

Minister: Well, of course, when we're investing taxpayer money in a project like this, we want to make sure that it gets a good outcome. That's why we have a tender process that does evaluate, based on a range of different criteria, the proposal that's been put forward. In this case, they found that it had too many risks in terms of the value of the money. We'll continue to meet the needs of the community by consulting with them. We are continuing to continue to work with our ice sports. Thank you.

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