A new push for a Canberra franchise in the Big Bash League could kick-start a potential bidding war for corporate support in the capital with an existing A-League bid.
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A local consortium is working behind the scenes to put together a BBL expansion bid that would rival any potential A-League club for top billing during summer in Canberra.
Canberra business analyst Jeff Williamson is the man behind Canberra's hopes of an A-League franchise and he isn't concerned by a battle for corporate backing.
Williamson is leading a 12-person team putting together an expansion bid in the capital and isn't stressing with Cricket Australia and the BBL first eyeing more games rather than teams.
Canberra will host a double-header between the Sydney Thunder and Melbourne Renegades on January 24, where a sell-out crowd would give the Canberra group momentum in the race for a BBL licence.
But Williamson will be hoping an A-League push is well and truly rolling by that stage, giving his group a head start in the race.
Canberra meets a host of operational considerations with a new $6.2 million high performance centre at Phillip Oval a massive tick in the region's favour.
The venue is seen as a training base for elite cricket in Canberra, doubling the amount of Cricket ACT's turf wickets with indoor nets to boot.
It means commercial viability is Canberra's only potential stumbling block, with BBL and Cricket Australia officials intent on ensuring Cricket ACT would not suffer financially.
It means any bid in Canberra would need plenty of corporate and community support - but a BBL team in the capital could be a stand-alone professional club in the region during summer.
Ivan Slavich led the A-League4Canberra bid and raised $5 million in government and corporate support and foundation memberships.
But the bid was quashed by Football Federation Australia, and a permanent A-League presence in Canberra looked dead in the water with corporate support hesitant to get involved.
Weston Creek Molonglo president Cade Brown was playing for the Canberra Comets in the domestic one-day competition before the side was booted out in 2000.
He believes there would be enough corporate support in the area and says a Canberra team in one of the world's best supported sporting leagues would be "a huge boost" for the entire region.
"Canberra is a terrific city which in the winter has a range of interests. Over summer, Canberra has one interest, and that interest is cricket," Brown said.
"If it were to happen one day there would be a combination of an influx of quality players, which would be good for grassroots cricket, and then opportunity for local players to play on a national stage.
"As a parent of a young six-year-old who just loves the Big Bash, one day to maybe have a Canberra team that he could connect with, would be extraordinary."
Manuka Oval will also host two women's Ashes Twenty20 matches in November, and big crowds would fuel desires for a permanent elite cricket presence in Canberra, the costs of which could total $6 million per year.
Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland maintains expansion plans revolve around more games, with the BBL determined to let the current teams ride the wave of sold-out crowds and huge television ratings.
A sell-out crowd of 11,837 witnessed the BBL|04 final at Manuka Oval and sustaining similar attendance figures would be vital to ensure the viability of a franchise in Canberra.
BBL expansion comes as a package deal with any city given a new franchise required to sustain both men's and women's teams.
Cricket ACT already have the staff in place to accommodate the Comets' Futures League team and Women's National Cricket League contenders, the Meteors.
