City of Casey CEO Mike Tyler told au.fourfourtwo.com that his area is ideally equipped to be the base for a second A-League side in Melbourne, but noted that Casey Fields – a multi-sport location earmarked for training and youth league matches – could not be converted into an A-League quality stadium.

“It's for this reason that we'd have to play at either Telstra Dome or the new Olympic Park.”

Tyler said a trip to the city via the new freeway would only be around a 40 minute drive.

“But let me also say we'd support a licence bid and we'd be happy to talk to potential investors. There is so much going for the City of Casey,” he added.

“We're at the apex of the Mornington Peninsula and Gippsland and could expect to filter support from many regions around Melbourne not just the City of Casey without detracting from Melbourne Victory.”

The City of Casey is Victoria’s most populous municipality. The population is estimated at about 230,000, or 71,000 households with the expectation it will grow to the size of Canberra over the next two decades.

The City encompasses the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, the coastal villages of Western Port as well as residential areas of Doveton, Endeavour Hills, Hallam, Hampton Park, Narre Warren, Berwick, Cranbourne, Lynbrook, Lyndhurst and the farm belt of Devon Meadows, Clyde and Pearcedale.

“We have heaps and heaps of kids playing football in the City,” Tyler added. “I can't give you exact figures but all the anecdotal evidence points to it being huge. In fact, at Berwick soccer club, they can't take any more kids. And there's pressure to construct more pitches.

“It's an area that has around 40-50,000 school kids and since the last World Cup the sport has just gone through the roof.”

Casey Fields has had $15 million spent on it, according to Tyler, with a further $15 million to be poured in as part of the project's master plan. This would also include a major road being built to service the expected extra usage.

The ground would provide a logical training and administrative HQ for any A-League club while being the playing base for the club's juniors, national youth league team and women's team.

“Our message to Melbourne's soccer fans is that Casey is a fantastic location. What's more council will be extremely sympathetic towards bringing elite soccer to the City of Casey and we will be very cooperative in that regard.”

He added of the potential bid: “It's about buying into the hearts and minds.”