The Wantirna South stadium, now under construction in the Eastern Recreation Reserve, is in line to become the home of a second Melbourne-based National Basketball League side last week.

The NBL is looking to add a Brisbane team and a Melbourne side, possibly as early as the 2012-13 season.

WNBL side Bulleen Boomers have long been connected with the new centre, although they have remained silent on the issue as they still retain their home at the Veneto Club in Bulleen.

Two Melbourne-based bids are working towards earning an NBL franchise.

One bid, which so far doesn't have a name, is believed to have the backing of several big south-east Melbourne-based basketball associations.

The NBL commission was expected to look over bids from Brisbane and Melbourne last week with an eye to admitting one or both into the league for next season. If both sides enter, the league will go from nine teams to 11.

A source with knowledge of the south-east Melbourne bid told the Weekly it would tap into the passionate supporter bases of clubs like Knox Raiders, Dandenong Rangers, Kilsyth Cobras and Ringwood Hawks.

Whether any of those associations has a financial stake in the bid is yet to be revealed but clubs in the south-east have long bemoaned the lack of an NBL side to represent the region along with WNBL club Dandenong Rangers.

Former NBL and NBA star Chris Anstey tweeted last week that the bid, if admitted to the NBL, would have "great owners" and have the grassroots connections to build a strong support base. He also called the basketball centre a "perfect venue for NBL and WNBL sides".

The centre is expected to be open by March next year and will be operated by Knox Basketball, with its SEABL men's and women's teams expected to play home games out of the centre's show court, which is expected to have a 3000-seat capacity.

The 2012-13 NBL season is expected to tip off in October next year.