Canberra Airport has unveiled a proposal to build a new stadium in the city centre at a site previously ruled out for development by the ACT government.

The airport said the proposed venue would be capable of hosting international musical acts as well as "blockbuster sporting events".

It said the central stadium was intended to ensure event crowds were within walking distance of public transport, including the light rail, as well as hotels, restaurants and bars in Civic.

The proposed site is the location of the current Archbishop's House at Regatta Place and is on Commonwealth land.

The proposed stadium's concept takes inspiration from New Zealand's Te Kaha stadium in Christchurch, which opened in 2026.

The covered New Zealand stadium, which is able to seat up to 36,000, cost around $531 million to deliver, including earthquake-proofing.

Canberra Airport said the national capital's design would need to be "tailored to local conditions", but the Te Kaha stadium provided "a compelling example" of how a stadium in a city centre could transform visitor experience while supporting economic activity.

Proposal to strengthen 'heart of our city'

Canberra Airport chief executive Stephen Byron said the city "deserves a stadium of which it can be proud".

"Canberra deserves a stadium … that brings people together, creates economic growth and strengthens the heart of our city," Mr Byron said.

Canberra Airport said it was "willing to contribute to the proposal's development" but was not seeking ownership and would have no ongoing financial interest in owning or operating the stadium.

The airport said its role would be to work with business, government, sporting and community stakeholders to "test the concept through architectural design, construction costings and an independent economic and social impact assessment".

"One of the things we've said we will do as the private sector group is that we will look to develop a design and we'll get it costed by an expert builder who builds stadiums," Mr Byron said.

A stadium in Canberra's CBD has long been a topic of discussion in the nation's capital, even becoming an election issue during the 2022 federal election.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr was among the first prominent voices to call for a new stadium in Civic, but later cooled on the idea.

In 2023, Mr Barr told the ABC the government had "thoroughly explored" the city proposal, and had "tried to make it work", but the site's constraints meant it had to consider other options.

Canberra Airport chief executive Stephen Byron said today's proposal was the result of "fortuitous timing".

"I think sometimes the pieces of the puzzle come together at the right time ... that we've been able, as a group of people interested in the future of Canberra, to come across the church at a time where they're thinking about the future of their site," he said.

Mr Byron clarified that the Archbishop's residence was not heritage listed, and he said they would work closely with the Catholic Church on the project.

"It would also require the approval of the Commonwealth for this lease to be transferred from the Catholic Church to what we see as a future entity that would own and operate the stadium," he said.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has previously told Senate Estimates the Archbishop's House was not supported by the government as a site for any major development.

"The Archbishop's residence is not zoned, suitable or available for development of that large scale," the chief minister said in answer to a question taken on notice last year.

Federal ACT Senator Katy Gallagher said in a statement: "The opportunity to think about the best use for that site, if the Archbishop's land became available, is an opportunity too good to be missed."

Questions around access and parking: Steel

ACT Minister for Planning and Sustainable Development Chris Steel said he would meet with Mr Byron to discuss the idea.

Mr Steel said the new study would need to factor in practical considerations "including the transport and access requirements on the site, how a stadium could be accommodated within Commonwealth Park and of course how they can address some of the Commonwealth's planning requirements". 

He said the government would not immediately rule the idea out.

"But it will need to address some of the questions that I think both we have, the community have, and certainly the Commonwealth will have about exactly how it could be accommodated in Commonwealth Park, whether in addition to the aquatic facility or in place of it, and then exactly how thousands of people would access the site on a match day, how crowds would be managed," he said.

Archdiocesan Financial Administrator Helen Delahunty said the residence was still used daily, but that they were "happy to have that discussion" with the airport.