The Phoenix A-League team need a purpose-built 12,000-seat stadium in Petone if Wellington wants to keep home games, says club co-owner Gareth Morgan.
Plans have been unveiled to build Petone Arena, costing up to $NZ48 million ($A44.85m), shifting matches away from the 35,000-seat Westpac Stadium on Wellington's waterfront.
Phoenix backers want $NZ25m ($A23.4m) from the Hutt City Council with the balance will come from them, and corporate and community fundraising.
They will submit the idea to council and it is hoped construction could begin next year and the stadium be ready for the A-League season opener in October 2016.
Morgan said on Monday the club faced having to move more games out of Wellington.
The Phoenix lost revenue each time they hosted games at Westpac but made money from matches in Napier, Dunedin, Auckland or Christchurch.
They attract up to 8000 fans each game, but it is unreasonable for Wellington to pull crowds of more than 10,000. That number of fans "got lost in a corner" at Westpac, he said.
However, big games would return to Westpac Stadium.
The trend of making stadiums intimate and designed to amplify the fan experience was the only way to compete with television coverage, he said.
"We have to re-invent the game-day experience for fans and the start of that is an arena that is fit for purpose."
That meant a stadium designed around a rectangular playing field which would be more intimate and family-friendly. The technology would be "stunning", he said.
Petone would become the Phoenix's training base, but it would also be used for club and provincial rugby, league and other community events.
Petone is only 13km from Westpac Stadium. The distance is not seen as a barrier for Wellington-based fans.
