The league floated the possibility of a revival of the Canberra Cannons in April, telling The Canberra Times they were looking at expansion with the ACT one of their preferred options.

Having previously likened the work required to make AIS Arena "NBL-ready" to the redevelopment of Derwent Entertainment Centre in Hobart - the home of the Tasmania JackJumpers - that would mean another $50 million was required to bring it up to scratch.

It took $66 million for the upgrade in Hobart.

The NBL have been buoyed by the success of the JackJumpers, who made the championship playoffs in their first season.

But AIS Arena - the logical home for any NBL team in Canberra - has been closed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic due to safety concerns.

It's left WNBL team Canberra Capitals without a suitable finals venue for the past two summers.

While the federal government has allocated $15 million to get the AIS Arena back online, those works won't be completed until early 2024 - after the WNBL finals.

While Kestelman welcomed the upgrades, he said it wouldn't be enough to make the AIS Arena a suitable NBL venue.

That means even after the arena comes back online in 18 months' time it wouldn't be at a standard to allow a return of the Cannons.

The Cannons have been defunct since 2003.

Kestelman was keen to work with the government with the possibility of the NBL taking over AIS Arena when it was completed.

Government funding would be needed for the $50 million facelift.

"While the $15m funding for the AIS Arena is a positive step and allows the venue to be operational again, it would not be 'NBL-ready' and is significantly short of the investment required," he said.

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"We maintain, part of the consideration to have a team in Canberra is to ensure it has a proper venue to play in.

"The NBL is a global sport and how we present our product is paramount.

"We welcome a discussion with the government to ascertain what is needed to have a team in Canberra."

Kestelman said if AIS Arena was upgraded to the standard required, Canberra could have an NBL team ready to go for the reopening of the venue.

Again he pointed to the Tasmanian team and how quickly they were able to get them off the ground.

Kestelman said it would take just two years to get a team up and running again in the capital - the same period it took for their newest franchise.

"As seen with the Tasmania JackJumpers, we can move quick on expansion, assuming the funding expected is met," Kestelman said.

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