The A-League, the NBL and cricket's ultra-successful Twenty20 competition the Big Bash League are the last frontiers on the ACT sporting landscape.

Officials from the NBL visited Canberra last week for preliminary discussions about the possibility of reviving the Cannons as part of expanding from eight to 16 teams in the next five years.

Football Federation Australia has put expansion of the A-League on the backburner after Canberra was overlooked for Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury, both of which are now defunct, and more recently the Western Sydney Wanderers.

Cricket ACT's long-term aim is to have a team in the Big Bash League, but a partnership with the Sydney Thunder shapes as a more realistic goal.

The University of Canberra has aligned itself with several elite sporting teams, including the ACT Brumbies and the Thunder, and was involved in discussions with the NBL.

The biggest issue facing all possible bids is the limited amount of corporate support in the national capital.

ACT Sports Minister Andrew Barr said that means the government plays a larger role in providing financial assistance than in other states or territories.

''There is a limit to the amount of money the government can put in,'' he said.

''My policy agenda in the past seven years has been to grow the pie and increase the revenue of all of our sporting clubs, but there is a limit to how many teams a city of 400,000 and a region of 800,000 can support.

''I can't say with certainty what exactly that number is, but that number can only be increased if we can get the financial models right for the teams.''

The A-League is in a process of consolidating since adding the Wanderers two years ago.

Despite having $5 million in community support, corporate backing and government funding, the Canberra bid was turned down in favour of the Wanderers.

Strategically it made sense, Western Sydney drawing on a population of 2.5 million and proved an enormous success on and off the field, winning the premiership in its first season.

Canberra bid chief Ivan Slavich said the proposal for the Cannons to re-enter the NBL could learn lessons from the attempts to get an A-League team off the ground from scratch.

''There are three or four stakeholders they would have to seek money from,'' Slavich said.

''There would have to be an upfront commitment from the ACT government, the basketball federation would need to be willing to fund it and it depends on what sort of money private investors put in. I wouldn't totally say no, but it'd be a challenge.''

The Cannons would likely play in the 4260-capacity AIS Arena, but could also move to a proposed 3000-seat stadium at the University of Canberra.

The Canberra professional sporting market is already stretched with teams in the NRL (Canberra Raiders) and Super Rugby (Brumbies) along with the GWS Giants, the AFL club that plays four games in the ACT until 2021 on a $26 million, 10-year deal with the ACT government.

Semi-professional women's teams such as the Canberra Capitals in the WNBL and Canberra United in the W-League are sustainable because they are cheaper to run.

United's annual budget is around $300,000 - a figure far less than just the salary caps of the A-League ($2.5 million plus one international marquee and an Australian marquee), the BBL ($1.05 million) and the NBL ($1 million).

Capital Football chief executive Heather Reid expected it would be another three or four years before the FFA considered expanding, with her organisation's focus on entering a team in the National Youth League at an annual cost of $300,000-$400,000.

''Capital Football are certainly interested in [the A-League], but it won't be driven by Capital Football,'' Reid said. ''It has to come from the community.''

While the NBL is aggressively canvassing expansion plans, the strong television ratings for the BBL suggest it is in the best position for growth.

Cricket ACT chairman Ian McNamee said Canberra would be ready to make its pitch whenever the green light was given.

''The moment Cricket Australia say there will be an extension of two new teams, we have a profile of high-profile businessmen already assembled on that,'' he said. ''It's the ambition of the Cricket ACT board to have a team in the Big Bash League.''

The wildcard in all of the negotiations is the University of Canberra.

UC has sponsorship agreements with the Brumbies and the Thunder and has plans to take over the WNBL licence for the Capitals as part of its quest to become the leading sports university in Australia.

''It's no secret the university is positioning itself as the leading university for sport-related research and teaching,'' University of Canberra chief executive Joe Roff said.

''We've been in discussions with Basketball ACT about how we can partner with the Canberra Capitals and basketball is a sport we work closely with.

''There hasn't been any indication of the university being involved in an NBL bid.''

A-LEAGUE

■ Football Federation Australia has no immediate plans to expand the A-League from its current 10 teams (Brisbane, Sydney, Central Coast, Newcastle, Western Sydney, Melbourne Victory, Melbourne Heart, Wellington, Adelaide, Perth).

■ Each team has a salary cap of $2.5 million, along with an international marquee player and an Australian marquee player.

■ The A-League is in the first year of a four-year television deal with SBS and Fox Sports worth $160 million.

■ A Canberra bid was established in 2008 for entry into the 2010-11 season and raised $5 million through a combination of community, corporate and government support, less than the $6 million required by the FFA. The group was wound up and community memberships refunded in 2012 after the Western Sydney Wanderers were admitted to the competition.

■ Teams currently play 27 games in the regular season from October to May.

■ The Canberra Cosmos played in the old National Soccer League from 1995 until 2001.

NBL

■ The NBL wants to expand the competition from eight teams (Cairns, Townsville, Sydney, Melbourne, Wollongong, Adelaide, Perth, New Zealand) to 16 within the next five years.

■ Each team has a salary cap of $1 million.

■ The NBL is in the fourth year of a five-year TV deal with Channel Ten and its sister station One until the end of the 2014-15 season.

■ It is understood a Canberra team would need $5 million for initial costs and then annual costs of $3 million.

■ Teams currently play 28 games in the regular season from October to April.

■ The Canberra Cannons were established in 1979, and won three championships (1983, 1984 and 1988) before folding in 2003.

BIG BASH LEAGUE

■ Cricket Australia has no immediate plans to expand the Big Bash League from its current number of eight teams (Brisbane, Sydney Sixers, Sydney Thunder, Melbourne Stars, Melbourne Renegades, Hobart, Adelaide, Perth).

■ Each team has a salary cap of $1.05 million.

■ The BBL is in the first year of a five-year television deal with Channel Ten worth $100 million.

■ Cricket ACT officials met representatives from a consortium in Geelong about 18 months ago to put together a joint proposal for two new teams in an expanded 10-team competition.

■ Teams currently play eight games in the regular season from December to February.

■ The Canberra Comets played in the national one-day competition from 1997-98 to 1999-2000.