Local ice sports -- huge opportunities to grow

January 16, 2023

CANBERRA.-- ACT Ice Sports Federation (ACTISF) president Tony Prescott today reaffirmed the organisation's ongoing commitment to ensuring a new twin-sheet ice sports facility will serve Canberrans today and decades into the future with existing as well as new on-ice activities.

He was speaking after the ACT Government announced it would allocate at least $16 million to the new twin-sheet ice sports centre in Tuggeranong as part of a development by Cruachan Investments and Pelligra Holdings.

ACTISF members -- ACT Ice Skating, Ice Hockey ACT, ACT Broomball and the CBR Brave -- will soon welcome newly established sports associations to the federation's membership, committed to helping build and grow new opportunities in curling, ice racing and para hockey/skating disciplines.

“We welcome this further progress towards establishing a new ice sports centre in Canberra," Mr Prescott said today.

"The ACT Ice Sports Federation is committed to partnering with the ACT Government along with Cruachan Investments and Pelligra Holdings to realise our dream of a state-of-the-art facility capable of meeting the current and future needs of all of our ice sports, and creating opportunities and pathways for local kids today and long into tomorrow. 

"We anticipate the new facility will become a national centre of excellence for ice sports and a natural home for local, national and international level ice sports events,” Mr Prescott added.

It is significant the ACT Government will commit at least $16 million towards the new ice sports facility. 

"No previous Territory administration has made a commitment such as this to the ice sports -- ever," Mr Prescott said. 

"This is an excellent outcome on so many levels and we laud Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Sports Minister Yvette Berry who have stuck with this project all the way from our very first discussions, through to today's unveiling of the new facility's renders and design.

"We now await the joint venture's securing of a successful development application and Cruachan/Pelligra's close engagement with ACT Ice Sports Federation in relation to the proposed development.

"It's an exciting new project for all of Canberra: for existing and new ice sports, for existing and new fans, for existing and new sponsors, for tourists and the tourism sector, for the hospitality sector and those employed within it, and of course over the duration of the build, this will be a huge injection for Tuggeranong and the ACT more generally for the construction sector including all the trade and associated industries involved," Mr Prescott added.