Greater Dandenong Mayor Jim Memeti has declared Victorian’s southeast region could house an A-League team “as early as July”, but would play matches at AAMI Park to begin with.The region has thrown its hat into the ring to be apart of the next round of A-League expansion, due to take place in 2018-19, and would likely encompass the Greater Dandenong region and the City of Casey.Cr Memeti says training facilities in Dandenong could be ready by July, and the bid has identified a long-term home.“We would have training facilities ready to go as early as July,” Memeti told SEN Afternoons.
“The council is constructing a $12 million football precinct … we would have training facilities ready to go straight away.“Potentially, we could be playing home games at AAMI Park. In the future, the (Dandenong) Showgrounds in Bennet St, we could probably built a boutique stadium to hold about 20,000 people.“I think the hunger that this area has for sport, it’s second to none. Football has just taken off.“The sport that everyone’s talking about and wants to be apart of is football. I think the time is right.”

http://outside90.com/greater-dandenong-mayor-southeast-victoria-a-league-team-ready-to-go-next-year-245/

My previous understanding was that the club would focus on promotional activities through the south and south-east corridor (which is ironic considering the Dandenong bid) - differentiating themselves on the basis that Victory and City both try to claim the whole city, whereas South would be genuinely claiming one part. 

How would a stadium in the South East be viable though?

The HAL would likely offer less than 20 home games a year and there are no other sports that realistically would need to use it.

RL and RU won't have a regular use for it, NPL matches for any clubs in the area also don't need 15-20k capacity stadiums so that really just leaves concerts.

Football specific stadiums sound great but the economics would be very hard to make work.

I've heard an interesting rumour today that could have legs.
The local Dandenong Aussie rules side currently plays at the Showgrounds.

Well apparently their really struggling financially and owe the council money.
On top of this they are struggling on the field with numbers and results.

Apparently the council are really putting the heat on them and basically want them out so they can use the oval for soccer.
Weather it be for this bid or junior it remains to be seen. However considering its at the same area that was mentioned in the article it's probably worth posting.

Frankston Pines

I like the idea. I wonder if there is room for both SM and SE melb. They are very simular catchment areas. 

On a stadium I think they need a bare bones stadium and a team playing in the NPL. With plans to get a full stadium if they get accepted. Probably needs to be no bigger than 15k max to begin with

Actually looks like a sweet stadium.

Lightweight seats eh !

Should be able to chuck them a long way.

The perfect template for Dandenong showgrounds?
Demountable system which has worked wonder in PNG. 
15,000 seats overall with room to expand to 25,000 if ever needed.
Almost $100M US to build off shore



  http://populous.com/project/png-national-football-stadium/

  The redeveloped stadium will include 3,000 permanent seats and 9,000 lightweight seats, with an ultimate capacity of 25,000 permanent seats. The facility will also include 500
corporate seats, a viewing deck and members seating for an additional 300 people.
The main issue Populous had to overcome for this design was cost. The project had a low budget and Papua New Guinea has a very small manufacturing base meaning all material
had to be manufactured overseas and shipped in ce Lloyd Robson Oval in Boroko, Port Moresby.

  

The ground is being redeveloped by Oil Search Limited for the people of Papua New Guinea through the National Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme.
 
Due for completion for the commencement of the 2016 season, the new ground will be a modern facility that will host local and international rugby league, rugby union, and soccer matches. The modern design and proximity to the field of play will ensure patrons will have the best views and atmosphere ever experienced at any sports venue in PNG.
 
The state-of-the-art facility includes:
·         25,000 ultimate seating capacity, including general admission, wheelchair and carer positions and enhanced amenity seats
·         international standard, quick draining, low maintenance turf playing surface
·         air-conditioned corporate facilities
·         modern media facilities
·         numerous food and beverage outlets featuring local street food cuisine
·         modern public washroom amenities.
 
The new stadium will be redeveloped in 2 stages, with stage 1 capacity of 15,000 seats targeting partial completion for hosting the 2015 Pacific Games in July 2015. Stage 2 will see the stadium continue to grow to 25,000 seat capacity, complete with facilities for national player training and rehabilitation facilities.

Casey does mention that the bid and the council want to redevelop the showgrounds, so you'd expect that to be a new, rectangular stadium.

The Tassie bid talks of a redevelopment of Nth Hobart, but is that just to increase capacity/amenities and not convert to rectangular?

But ultimately, it won't be a stopper, and shouldn't be. Plenty of teams around the world play in oval stadiums with running tracks etc around the pitch.

I think moving forward one of the absolute pre requisites is that any bid that comes forward has to have as an absolute must a rectangular seat stadium. No more ovals. If there is one thing that we all know for certain, is that oval shaped venues for our code loses much of the attraction of going to a live game, as so much of the atmosphere is lost unless you are able to fill for the stadium up to the brim and even then it's debatable.

So to be honest at present I dont think many of the bids really stack up. 

Tasmania - No
Sth Melb - Maybe if they put up stands behind goals (unlikely)
Geelong - No
2nd Brisbane - Possibly yes
Sth Sydney - Possibly yes

Ok ok how about the Dandenong Celtic then? Make you happy?

Speaking of regions, I've got a question and I'm sure if the FFA are talking to South this would be a major talking point.. Who exactly does South Melbourne represent now, or who do they intended to represent? I'm sure 99% of their fans don't actually live in South Melbourne the suburb. Are they aiming to represent the South of Melbourne? How do they stop becoming just another broad based Melbourne team?

Reason why I ask this is that they already have a great supporter base for an NPL club and I reckon they'd do well to begin with, however how does South grow in the future, other than appealing to Greeks?

Spot on. Totally wrong term to use.

East Melbourne United
or EMUs
lol

Really piss the AFL off and take Casey Scorpions? Or go Casey Football Group, or CFG?

Mornington Magic

Die Die Rangers Fucking Die

since Dandenong Rangers is taken, how about Melbourne Rangers FC.

yeah, they'd probably have a worldwide patent the name, but I'm unsure of legalities regarding football club names. You'd imagine with traditional clubs clashes are fine, but with franchises it's more of a grey area

DC United is where Fred landed after Victory. You'd think there would be copyright issues with that, wouldn't there?

if it was 6 clubs coming together then DC United would make sense too (I think there is an MLS team called that though)

Dandenong-Casey (DC) Athletic.

Anything associated with South East Melbourne just is too long to roll off the tongue imo.

I'm sorry but I really, genuinely, don't understand what you're getting at.

Commercial partnerships can't be useless projects by definition.  The game gets something from them.  Often they can't be "fully disclosed" because the commercial partner wants it that way.  Westfield's investment in the W League would be an example perhaps?

If you mean the registration system in reference of the "digital platforms for grass roots" then I differ strongly.  It's simply the best admin tool that's ever been gifted to the local game.  Saves an absolute fucktonne of problems for small clubs and larger clubs alike.

Incentives for stakeholders at all levels?  How is that broad heading a useless project in any form?  The FFA Cup is a useless project? Or what?

If you want expansion of the professional game then you and I and a million others agree.  It's not a useless project and there are no projects useless or useful that I am aware of that contradict or conflict with the aim of increasing the size of the professional game in this country.  I only differ from many on the subject in how it should be done.  I want to see ambitious Clubs take their desire and make it happen by cooperation amongst themselves, rather than sit round whining about how it isn't being gifted to them.  If that had been the attitude of decades past then the game wouldn't even be played here today.  It would seem the loudest complainants have the least desire to do the heavy lifting. 

"We should be able to say yeah, we can currently sustain at least 14 teams. All I care about."
Laudable but nothing to do with "useless projects".  AFAIK the FFA is negotiating to have 12 teams guaranteed and possibly 14 teams in the next 4 years.  (Wouldn't surprise me if they just added 4 straight up). They have said they actually want 16 but they will only add more teams in a manner that keeps the the League stable rather than risk losing them quickly as has happened in the past.  I can live with that.
Plenty can't. 

Casey-Dandenong are ambitious.  I like that. More power to them.  If they truly believe then they will make it happen.  If they just say "we have a great idea and now we want someone else to run with it" then they will fail absolutely.

Well SW andP - no less, so-called commercial partnerships that are not fully disclosed, investing in digital platforms for grass roots, to connect them to A League-hot air..which means what?  Incentives for stakeholders at all levels, I can go on and on, I'm bored! Just expansion!!!!!!!!!!!! More strakeholders will come in with more products and services-on the field! We should be able to say yeah, we can currently sustain at least 14 teams. All I care about.

The other option for a stadium could be Sandown as there are apparently plans to sell the land by the racing club.

There is a station there also and could be worked into a mixed use development by a generous developer :)

Overall though, how can a stadium of 10k+ be built that makes financial sense out there?There are very limited opportunities to use the stadium effectively across the year which makes this a difficult one to see happening.

In my view though, a club playing out there and not just based there would be a big strategic advantage. It's a big market that has not been tapped into effectively yet.

If a stadium solution can be reached, this would be my priority list of the 3 potential bids:

1/ South-East Melbourne
2/ South Melbourne FC
3/ Geelong

True. An overwhelming landslide doesnt quite cut it.

Go out and get some fresh air draupy. 

Most of the votes for the other 2 would be from people that don't want south in for obvious reasons as opposed to supporting the other 2, half the vote is a pretty significant win overall, we obviously outnumber the haters. Would have thought the fastest growing region in Victoria would run us a bit closer.

So two out of the three options aren't even existent as clubs and SM (whose fans would've voted in the poll) only manage 50%?