The Raiders unveiled plans on Monday for a major redevelopment of their former headquarters at Northbourne Oval, joining forces with the ACT and NSW governments to fund the project.

The two-storey building will include state of the art sports science facilities, a gym, room for community programs and a training field, with the design to implement details used by professional teams in the United States and Australia.

Chief executive Don Furner has spent the past three years working to find a way to fund the vision, with the Raiders set to return to Northbourne Oval after 18 years at the club's Bruce headquarters.

"This will set us up for the next 15 or 20 years so we can compete with the best," Furner said.

"It's not just about [attracting] senior players. It's the junior players as well. It can be somewhat of an arms race to keep up with [other clubs].

"We've got a great city here, we've got great talent out in the country. If we can retain them, we can compete and show them a pathway.

"You need the best facilities to attract the best kids and to show them a genuine pathway and so they don't have to move to Sydney for that."

The Raiders have submitted a development application and work on the run down buildings could start in the coming months, with the Raiders hopeful the project will be finished by the end of the 2019 NRL campaign.

It will give the club some of the best facilities in the competition and also the scope to bid for a licence in the new women's competition.

The partnership with the ACT and NSW governments could also pave the way for the Raiders' headquarters at Bruce to become a Country Rugby League base in the future.

The Raiders will own the asset at Braddon and will inject $10 million, while the profits from an apartment development on an adjoining block will help fund ongoing maintenance and upkeep.

The ACT government will add $5 million to the project, to be announced in the 2018-19 budget on Tuesday, and the NSW government will spend $4 million on the cross-border agreement.

The deal will likely lead to the Raiders playing trial and regular season games in country areas, including Wagga and Goulburn, with mayors from several regions at the announcement.

"From a person who's uneducated in politics, it's just such a commonsense approach," said Raiders coach Ricky Stuart.

"We're picking players from NSW regions and we've got local Canberra boys that we bring together. It's wonderful to have both governments see that and [join] to build something we're proud of.

"This is going to be something that takes us into our new era. The next generation.

"It's going to be one of the best high-performance centres in the league. I think our younger players in the region deserve it and it will help them progress quicker.

"For our club to moving in that direction ... once you see the facility itself, we're giving the players the best resources we can possibly give for their training and improvement as players."

The new Raiders' base could also boost the push for a new stadium with a roof to be built in Civic. The ACT government is set to buy Canberra Stadium if the Australian Sports Commission sells its biggest asset.

The government will then weigh up whether to redevelop the stadium to upgrade it, or knock it down, sell the land and build a new venue in the city.

"It all dove tails in really nicely [with plans for a stadium], that would be fantastic in five or 10 years time," Furner said.

The Raiders' new home will also be a bargaining tool to help re-sign and recruit players, with the Green Machine close to finalising deals with Josh Papalii and English prop John Bateman.

"I think it's a bit of a no-brainer that [the new base] will help [convince players to join the club]. I know the players here now from Sydney or Brisbane enjoy Canberra and want to stay," said Raiders skipper Jarrod Croker.

"That's only going to grow. It's only going to make a massive difference for the community and the club. If players are looking to settle their future, a new facility helps."