Both Big Bash clubs to remain based in Melbourne as CA prepares to discuss revised privatisation model with states
Cricket Victoria will rebrand the Melbourne Stars and intends to sell the licence for the Renegades franchise entirely, if Cricket Australia proceeds with a phased privatisation of Big Bash clubs.
Both licences will continue to be based in Melbourne for the WBBL and BBL. While CV is advancing with plans to rebrand the team it intends to retain a controlling stake in, the second licence will continue to operate as the Renegades until a sale is finalised.
CA will meet with states in the next fortnight to discuss an alternative mixed-investment model after NSW and Queensland rejected a previous proposal that involved selling stakes in all eight clubs.
It’s understood the revised private investment model would include an opt-in approach to proceed with testing the market and securing valuations for the interested franchises.
Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania have previously expressed support for allowing private investment in the Big Bash Leagues, while South Australia were in favour of a “hybrid” model. Negotiations with the Australian Cricketers’ Association, the players’ union, would also need to be finalised before private investment could proceed.
CV is pushing ahead with planning for its proposal ahead of any decision to approve private investment in the Big Bash, with its board giving the green light to selling 100 per cent of the licence to operate the Renegades.
Subject to agreement from CA and the five remaining state boards, Victoria would also sell a minority stake in its licence for the rebranded W/BBL club.
CA said in a statement: “We are aware of Cricket Victoria’s intentions, which would still mean there are two teams in Melbourne.
“There’s still plenty of work to be done and nothing has been decided or approved as yet.”
Under CV’s plan, the franchise they would retain a controlling stake in would be rebranded as a ‘Melbourne’ team ahead of the coming WBBL and BBL seasons and operated out of their Junction Oval base, with men’s home games to be played at the MCG.
The rebranded team would be renamed – a return of the ‘Bushrangers’ name has been floated – and have a new playing kit, likely moving to navy blue and white in line with Victoria’s traditional state colours.
The Renegades brand would continue to be used by the licence up for sale in the WBBL and BBL competitions prior to any potential sale. The franchise is set to be operated by a caretaker administration until a sale is secured under CV’s proposal.
The two clubs’ contracted players will remain the same for now, with those players informed of the proposed shake-up of the Melbourne clubs last night.
The Renegades currently have nine men’s and six women’s players contracted for next season, including captains Sophie Molineux and Will Sutherland, while the soon-to-be renamed Stars have 10 men and seven women locked away for 2026-27, including superstars Meg Lanning, Annabel Sutherland, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis.
Adam Zampa, Scott Boland and Tayla Vlaeminck are among the biggest names out of contract at both clubs.
Discussions around the Renegades’ home ground for KFC BBL|16 are also ongoing after their deal with Marvel Stadium expired at the end of last season.
CV staff were told of the plans on Tuesday afternoon.
In a statement, CV confirmed it would begin preparations for an expressions of interest phase with an eye to selling a 100 per cent stake in one of its two licences, if a consensus is reached between CA and the states this month.
CV CEO Nick Cummins said they had undertaken focus group consultation with members as part of the process.
“The Stars and Renegades fans said they would not support the other team, but they would support a team that played under a Victorian banner,” he said on SEN radio on Wednesday morning.
“There will be another Melbourne team, so there is still going to be a derby.
“When we sell one of our licences, one of the most important things we’re going to be looking at is … the buyer of that team, how can they bring to life the derby and get the biggest possible crowd (and) inspire parts of Melbourne that perhaps are not currently engaged in the Big Bash.”
Cummins added a name for the rebranded Melbourne team was still being worked through, but the Bushrangers – a previous moniker for the Victorian men’s side from 1995 to 2018 – was “fairly gender specific”.
“As opposed to when the Bushrangers existed previously, now we’ve got a WBBL team as well as a BBL team, so we are mindful of that,” Cummins said.
CA CEO Todd Greenberg said in April, when previous plans stalled, that the governing body would not walk away from attempting to find an acceptable model to welcome private investment into the Big Bash, which is the only major domestic T20 tournament that does not have private investment.
“Option A for us has always been … that we do it at the same time to extract the maximum value in the market,” Greenberg said at the time.
“But clearly we’re not at that point, so we now have to reassess what comes next.
“We’ve just moved to trying to analyse what a different model might look like, and is there a model where some states are taking private capital and some states aren’t?
“We would have to get some deep analysis to understand the impacts on Australian cricket.
“Because to do this, it needs to benefit the entire sport, and we have to look at that lens in the decisions that we make.”
