BLACKTOWN Mayor Leo Kelly wants a second NSW-based AFL team, and he would like it now.

"There is plenty of support for a second club in Sydney's west," he said. "This is the second-fastest-growing region in Australia after the Gold Coast."

Mr Kelly said 5000 people a year were moving to the region and within five years it would have a bigger population than the Northern Territory, ACT or Tasmania.

"A new club would produce a new generation of champions," he said.

Work will begin soon on a $27 million-plus AFL sporting complex at Blacktown, located in rugby league heartland. But Mr Kelly believes the investment in world-class facilities and grounds will draw even greater numbers to AFL.

"The complex will put 300,000 additional people within a 30-minute travel time to an Aussie rules game," he said.

"We had the Sydney Swans out here for a special promotion and the place was packed out. I reckon that with a second team you might get a lot of Swans supporters switching across."

Support for the Swans has traditionally come from the eastern and North Shore suburbs.

The new sports complex will incorporate the existing softball and baseball venues with an international standard athletics track and two new ovals for football and cricket.

"All up, I believe that the investment will be close to $30 million and it should be open within 12 months," said Mr Kelly.

Dale Holmes, the managing director of AFL NSW, said yesterday the revamped complex, which is still waiting for council approval, would eventually accommodate up to 15,000 spectators, with grandstand seating for 1500. It is set up to host pre-season AFL matches.

He said that over the past eight years, interest in the football code in Sydney's west had been boosted by the targeting of 12-year-olds.

"More and more kids are playing the game and watching it. Sydney's west is where all the potential growth is," he said.

"The game is being taken to a broader Sydney market. The creation of a new centre will provide the infrastructure and support to take it further."

The new sporting complex, to be built on the old 2000 Sydney Olympic baseball complex, will provide parking for 1500 vehicles, corporate facilities and lighting for night games. Most of the funding will come from the NSW State Government. Although not big enough for AFL roster games, it will accommodate pre-season competition games.

While Mr Holmes believed it might be too soon to consider a second AFL team in Sydney, he said spectator numbers for the code in NSW had been rising.

There are now 10 teams playing in the NSW AFL league following the recent inclusion of Sydney University.