Western United looks to host matches at Wyndham Regional Football Facility during 2023/24 A-League season

Western United are reported to be on track to host A-League matches at their new training facility in the Melbourne suburb of Tarneit next season.

Although work on their promised 15,000 capacity home stadium is still several years off, the club announced in May last year that it intended to host matches at their under-construction Wyndham Regional Football Facility.

Now, with the first stage of the Wyndham Regional Football Facility nearing completion - its pitch having been recently laid - ESPN has reported that the club has begun the process of contacting suppliers for temporary grandstand seating and other necessary amenities, which would increase the venue's capacity up to 8,000, suitable for hosting both men's and women's sides.

The training stadium will reportedly serve as a stopgap measure for “the next two to three seasons” until the club's promised main stadium, the centrepiece of their 2018 bid to join the A-League, is built.

Western United Chief Executive, Chris Pehlivanis told ESPN that the club has been communicating with the Australian Premier Leagues over the requirements associated with shifting matches to their Tarneit base, with several criteria needing to be met before a shift to the venue could be confirmed.

Pehlivanis told ESPN “the plan is to play every single game under our banner at this precinct. A-League Men, A-League Women, and NPL. That's going to be the home of Western United. Build something special, something that all of the western corridor can be proud of.”

While initially playing the bulk of their home games in Geelong, the club has more recently primarily hosted games at Melbourne’s AAMI Park. Games have also been played at Mars Stadium, UTAS Stadium and North Hobart Oval, although a bid to play at Lakeside Stadium last season was rejected by South Melbourne.

Despite representing Melbourne’s west, just one A-League Men’s game has been hosted west of Melbourne, in January 2020 at the Whitten Oval, while its women’s side has played at City Vista Reserve in Caroline Springs.

Last year, Western United chairman Jason Sourasis admitted the club's early timelines for its 15,000-seat purpose-built stadium were unrealistic but vowed to deliver on the promise, anticipating the stadium would be ready for action in 2026.

A joint project of the Wyndham City Council and United's parent company, Western Melbourne Group, construction on the Wyndham Regional Football Facility commenced in March 2022.

Image: Concept for the Wyndham Regional Football Facility.