Victoria can't sit around and do nothing if it wants to continue being a great sporting city, Premier Daniel Andrews says, but plans to demolish Etihad Stadium and build a new venue next to the MCG are "pretty bold".
Mr Andrews has been briefed on football identity Eddie McGuire's $1 billion plan to revamp Olympic Park, which would involve relocating Hisense Arena above an underground Richmond station to make way for the new stadium.
"I'm always for talking about ideas, debating and discussing ideas," Mr Andrews told reporters on Wednesday.
"We are a great sporting city but we can never ... sit around doing nothing."
Mr McGuire believes the new 60,000 stadium would benefit Victorians for the next 50 to 100 years.
"If we can do it in a way that liberates so much money to be going back into ... the development of the game, and at the same time benefits every other code, it is worth having a look at," Mr McGuire told the Nine Network on Wednesday.
State Opposition Leader Matthew Guy says the plan looks "pretty good" but would potentially be too expensive.
"It's a great idea but it's going to cost a lot of money from the state government and I'm not sure Daniel Andrews has got that kind of money to throw around at the moment given he's wasted so much," Mr Guy told reporters on Wednesday.
"You can't have both (Etihad and a new stadium) - Melbourne can't accommodate three stadiums of that size."
Mr Guy said putting Richmond station underground would also involve a significant cost to the government.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle last year predicted Etihad Stadium would be gone within 20 years but on Wednesday he suggested other parts of Docklands could be home to a new ground - instead of Olympic Park.
"I think it's a good conversation to be having now," Mr Doyle told 3AW.
Etihad opened in 2000 and is used for AFL, soccer, the rugby codes and cricket, as well as concerts and other special events.
The AFL is due to take ownership of the stadium in 2025.
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