The man behind Canberra's Big Bash dream will knock on the doors of Cricket Australia bosses this week as a "for sale" sign goes up on one of Melbourne's Twenty20 franchises.
Cricket ACT chairman Greg Boorer will seek clarity on whether Cricket Australia plans to put any conditions - such as keeping the team in Melbourne - on the sale of a Big Bash licence currently in the hands of Cricket Victoria.
The Australian cricket landscape went into a spin following revelations Cricket Victoria will kill off the Stars and Renegades, merging the teams into one entity and putting the state's second BBL licence on the market, pending approval of Cricket Australia's privatisation proposal.
Cricket Victoria chief executive Nick Cummins says the sale is a financial necessity, and has outlined his desire to make the state-run BBL club a team for Victorians to call their own.
There is a sense Cricket Victoria would want to maximise the investment in their team by minimising competition in Melbourne, which could be achieved by selling the second licence and allowing the team to be moved to Canberra.
But whether Cricket Victoria - who have played a role in blocking Boorer's push in the past - or Cricket Australia are willing to move a team out of one of the country's biggest markets remains to be seen.
"We are aware of Cricket Victoria's intentions, which would still mean there are two teams in Melbourne," a Cricket Australia statement said. "There's still plenty of work to be done and nothing has been decided or approved as yet."
Privatisation plans have centred on Indian Premier League investment, but the uncertainty around giving up control of Cricket Australia assets in the midst of the governing body's financial woes has been a major stumbling block.
Enter Boorer, Cricket ACT and the proposal which already has $3 million in support from the ACT government.
Boorer reportedly made a $90 million offer to buy a Big Bash licence for Canberra last year, but withdrew it after rival state associations effectively ostracised him in the board room.
The founder of the $17 billion tech company CDC Data Centres has been campaigning for the capital to be granted a team in the Twenty20 competition, passionately arguing Canberra deserved a proper seat at the table after years of being treated like a little brother.
Canberra has for so long been strung along by expansion plans for the Big Bash, the A-League and the NBL for years. Promises suggesting Canberra could get a team of its own "if a good crowd turns up to this game" have spanned the best part of two decades across different codes.
But Boorer is the game-changer for Cricket ACT. He is a savvy businessman who loves the city, and has been so hellbent on delivering a BBL team in Canberra he has had to cop the grenades thrown his way by rival states since stepping into his role at Cricket ACT five years ago.
He has unashamedly championed Canberra as a cricket destination, and was the instigator in Cricket Australia having a board meeting in the capital for the first time in recent years.
Investment from the IPL is another logical pathway. But Boorer presents a homegrown, cricket loving official who deserves a shot.
Cricket Australia will need to meet its broadcast obligations for the 2026-27 season, which stipulates a certain amount of games must be played to adhere to the agreement.
The start of the season is just six months away, giving Cricket Australia limited time to go to market to find a backer for a new team.
The Canberra expansion bid presents a readymade opportunity for Cricket Australia, although Boorer would be well within his rights to baulk at any approach after being rebuffed several times in recent years.
Cricket ACT is also at a critical juncture. Chief executive Olivia Thornton resigned last month and the organisation is searching for a new boss to work with Boorer.
Cricket Australia's plan to get an injection of private funds and team owners into the Big Bash was blocked last month when NSW and Queensland rejected the proposal. But Cricket Australia left the door ajar for some states to seek private investment.
"Option A for us has always been ... that we do it at the same time to extract the maximum value in the market," Greenberg said after talks collapsed.
"But clearly we're not at that point, so we now have to reassess what comes next.
"We've just moved to trying to analyse what a different model might look like, and is there a model where some states are taking private capital and some states aren't?
"We would have to get some deep analysis to understand the impacts on Australian cricket.
"Because to do this, it needs to benefit the entire sport, and we have to look at that lens in the decisions that we make."
