Manuka Oval is due for more upgrades. Photo: Rohan Thomson
CANBERRA'S two elite sporting venues will be temporarily closed for business at the same time. Canberra Stadium will join Manuka Oval in undergoing upgrades to be ready for international events in 2015.
The turf at Canberra Stadium will be replaced at the end of the year to ensure it will be right to host games in soccer's Asian Cup, to be held in January 2015.
The work is scheduled for late September after the Raiders have completed their NRL commitments and junior rugby league and union finals, but could be pushed back to mid to late October depending on the Socceroos bringing an international game to the city as part of centenary celebrations.
Canberra Stadium will be re-turfed. Photo: Graham Tidy
Negotiations are on hold until the Socceroos complete their World Cup qualifying campaign this month, however, it is looking unlikely at this stage.
The ground will be out of commission for three months after the turf has been re-laid, which means there should be no disruption to the start of the Super Rugby season in February next year.
The forecast budget for the work is between $100,000 and $300,000 and it is done every five years.
Territory venues general manager Neale Guthrie said re-laying the turf would ensure Canberra Stadium would be ready to play a significant role at the 2015 Asian Cup, with six pool games and a quarter-final to be held in the ACT.
''It gives it a season to settle down before we play the Asian Cup in January 2015,'' Guthrie said.
''This will be the third time that we've topped it since the original surface was laid before commitments with the Sydney Olympics in 2000.''
Renovations will also take place at Manuka Oval.
The turf at the ground will be replaced and extra seating installed to the cricket and Australian football venue.
Work at Manuka Oval will begin after GWS Giants' AFL game with Western Bulldogs on July 6. It is expected to be finished for the Prime Minister's XI cricket match with England on January 14.
The work is being undertaken to get Manuka Oval up to standard for Canberra's bid to host games in the 2015 Cricket World Cup.
With lights installed last summer and a sell-out crowd for the inaugural visit of the Australian cricket team in February, increasing the ground's capacity is seen as the final step to securing international cricket on a regular basis.
''I'll be very happy to see a contractor with machinery in the middle of Manuka Oval on July 8,'' Guthrie said.
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