Canberra's ALM bid still 'a few years off', with games a closer reality: Central Coast Mariners owner

However, getting ALM fixtures back to the capital for the first time since 2017 is a closer reality.

Mariners board chairperson Richard Peil is the reason the club is playing a pre-season match in the nation's capital on Wednesday.

He promised it would not be a one-off visit by the Mariners, with the intention for multiple visits each year until a Canberra ALM bid was successful.

"When I decided to put my money into the Mariners I said straight away, 'We've got to get the Mariners down to Canberra a couple times a year' and that's what we're doing," he said.

"I know the A-Leagues are very keen to have an A-League [Men's] team based out of Canberra. I still think that's a few years off.

"But the bottom line is that it's not cheap to put a new team in the A-League; tens of millions of dollars is needed to be raised to fund the start-up.

"Particularly coming out of COVID, I know with my own businesses, it's not that easy to find $30 or $40 million to start a new franchise.

"So I think it'll take a little bit of time for the right funding from the right people to come into place."

The Mariners have played four ALM games in Canberra, with two matches across both the 2009-10 and 2016-17 seasons.

A return to the region will likely be delayed by a deal in Mudgee, as the Central Coast side struck an agreement with the Mid-Western Regional Council last season.

Wednesday's game against the Capital Football's all-stars side at Deakin Stadium will, however, help gauge interest into games returning to the ACT.

The Mariners are expecting more than 2500 people will attend, with ticket sales already ahead of schedule to reach that.

"The Canberra community can certainly help the cause by turning out in numbers for the game on Wednesday," Peil said.

"We've had a really, really good response. We are actually pretty blown away. The ticket sales are going really well for the game. So it looks like it's been really well received so far.

"I'm still living in Canberra four or five days a week, so our recall with the Mariners will continue to strengthen until the time that Canberra has a team."

When Peil became majority owner of the Mariners in May, there were whispers of the club relocating.

Those discussions were spurred by the Mariners and the Central Coast Stadium's landlord Venue Lives' inability to finalise a rental agreement, before one was reached.

Peil was also involved in last December's bid for a Canberra ALM side, alongside Andy Bernal.

However, Peil's buy into the Mariners, and bringing Bernal into the fold as the Mariners' vibe coach, has put their ACT bid on the backburner.

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Instead, the Anytime Fitness founder was focused on bringing an ALM fixture to the place he has called home for about 25 years.

"A game in Canberra would be a bit of a dream come true, to be honest," he said.

"It's definitely not out of the question. I mean, I love it, but there's a little bit of red tape to get through before I could make that a reality."

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