The ACT government has scrapped the long-promised Tuggeranong ice sports facility and will redirect its $16.265 million commitment into other local sports projects.

A developer's bid in January more than doubled the territory's required contribution for the Tuggeranong ice sports centre, forcing the ACT government to cancel the long-promised project that would have featured two international-standard ice sheets.

On 7 September 2026 Sports Minister Chris Steel said a tender evaluation had identified unacceptable risks, and that the proposal "did not represent value for money". The government had already committed $16.265 million to the project, which at one stage was estimated to cost $70 million and was often referred to as Canberra Arena. Developers Cruachan Investments and Pelligra Holdings said the Greenway site had become too challenging and plan to bring a cheaper, reworked proposal with alternative locations in coming months, while opposition figures and ice sports clubs reacted with anger and disappointment. The $16.265 million will be redirected dollar for dollar into upgrades and other sport and recreation infrastructure in Tuggeranong, and sporting clubs have been invited to complete a survey to help decide how the funding is spent.

What Happened

Pelligra Group and Cruachan were formally named the preferred delivery partners in 2019 and entered a non-binding agreement with the ACT government in 2022. That arrangement never moved to a final contract.

Construction timetables slipped after COVID-19, and the project was delayed by complex legal, governance and environmental approvals. The hold-ups pushed the scheme well beyond its originally expected start window.

Developers Cruachan Investments and Pelligra Holdings had proposed a private delivery model under which they would build, own and operate the venue. Industry reporting also put the planned spectator capacity at about 3,600, a scale that would have made the development one of Canberra’s larger regional indoor sports venues.

The Key Moment

“After 10 years of waiting, ice sports players and the Tuggeranong community have been hung out to dry,” Laura Nuttall, the ACT Greens member for Brindabella, said.

Mastheads

The opposition labelled the decision a "100 per cent debacle."

"The ACT Government came to the table ready and willing to make this project a reality, with the funding secured and a strong desire to see it built," Sports Minister Chris Steel said.

At one stage of the project’s planning the completion date was listed as 2025.

By The Numbers

  • The promise stretched across three elections.

  • 2020 was the year construction was expected to begin.

  • At one point the private sector partners estimated the build at about $70 million.

  • The territory’s pledged contribution became, at the time, the largest government commitment ever made to ice sports in Australia.

What's Next

The immediate steps

Developers Cruachan Investments and Pelligra Holdings have said they will prepare a new, more cost‑effective proposal with options for different locations in the coming months. The ACT Government will reallocate the funds it had committed to the ice sports project into upgrades and other sport and recreation infrastructure in Tuggeranong, and sporting clubs have been asked to complete a survey to help shape that spending.

What decisionmakers will look for

  • A reworked business case that directly responds to the tender evaluation’s identified risks and demonstrably improves value for money.
  • A clear, lower-cost delivery model or an alternative site that removes the site-specific challenges the partners flagged.
  • Evidence from community consultation, including the clubs survey, that any redirected investment meets local priorities.

Political pressure will continue. Opposition figures have called the cancellation a debacle, and local MPs and ice sports representatives are seeking briefings and answers about what went wrong and what comes next.

If the developers can resolve the tender evaluation’s flagged risks and present an affordable, site-feasible plan in the coming months, Tuggeranong could still win a purpose-built ice facility. If they cannot, the committed funding will be spent on other local sports upgrades and the specific opportunity for the promised arena at the Tuggeranong site will be lost.

Originally reported by ABC News.

This article was created with AI assistance.