Australia lobbies to host four US college football games from 2016

Melbourne is set to host games of American football after one of the city's major stadiums entered talks with college teams from the United States.

Paul Sergeant, chief executive officer of Melbourne's Etihad Stadium, said on Thursday that he had been in negotiations with two college football conferences about bringing bowl games to Australia from 2016.

He said Melbourne's reputation as the sporting capital of the world means the city is the perfect fit for American football.

He told SEN 1116 radio that American football has a strong following in Melbourne, and that a deal to secure four games over four years would be "massive" for Victoria.

"American sport, let alone college football, has a massive following in this country. It's a quality product," he said.

"We've engaged with the Pac-12 and the Mountain West conferences. We know Pac-12 is full of the big household names ... UCLA, Stanford, Washington, you name it. They have many big names in Pac-12."

He said college administrators were sold on the idea of bringing the sport overseas, it was just a matter of organizing the logistics and finer details.

"They're very keen. They see a wonderful opportunity in terms of a student athlete experience."

"It's something that would be a perfect fit for Eithad Stadium."

The privately-funded event would incorporate a five day American festival, which would bring the best of American foods, music and culture to Melbourne with the bowl game.

Sergeant said he didn't expect many traveling fans to make their way across from the States on a 14 hour flight, instead telling SEN that he expected the 56,000-capacity stadium to sell out locally.

"We think it will sell its socks off. We think it'll be a full house and the hottest ticket in town," he said.

"From some of the research work we've done, the feedback has been incredibly strong and supportive.

"We think it's a quality product, a genuine game with cheerleaders and bands."

The first game is expected to be played in December 2016. Teams and specific dates are yet to be announced. Endi