Essendon CEO Xavier Campbell has confirmed his club is interested in the idea of playing an AFL game for premiership points in California.
The plans are still in their early stages, but Bombers powerbroker and legendary former coach Kevin Sheedy is understood to be pushing for a match against the Giants to be taken to the untapped market.
GWS CEO Dave Matthews is also reportedly keen and the AFL's youngest club already has an existing relationship with some American businessmen.
MORE: The ultimate Supercoach rookie guide
It was reported last year that a pair of US fund managers had "fallen in love" with the Giants and have subsequently poured money into the club - including funding their buy out of the naming rights to their own home ground - now known as Giants Stadium.
Speaking on SEN, Campbell said the idea, which would hypothetically take place in 2021 or 2022, was building momentum.
"Sheeds has been very passionate about the US for a long period of time and his discussions with Dave Matthews, the CEO of the Giants, when he was up there – they are very passionate about it," Campbell said.
"This has been led by GWS and Dave, they are a pretty innovative football club and we’re pretty keen to explore another market.
"Clearly there has to be a performance benefit opportunity and there has to be a commercial opportunity, and it’s a time and age where it’s a really competitive landscape, AFL football, and you’re trying to create points of difference.
"The Californian market is the fifth biggest economy in the world... so it’s got a whole range of exciting and attractive aspects to it that we're keen to explore.
"But I want to reaffirm it’s in its infancy in terms of our discussions... but we’re keen to really explore it.
"If it makes sense and the business case adds up and both boards of both football clubs support it, we’ll pursue it."
Campbell also said the Bombers wouldn't be giving up a game to play there, meaning that one of the Giants' seven fixtures at their Sydney Olympic Park base would most likely be shifted.
"It would be a Giants home game. We’re not in a position to entertain shifting an Essendon home game," he said.
"We want to ensure that we play our home games at Marvel and the MCG, and that’s really important to us."
The timing of the fixture and venue are going the biggest hurdles, with a season-opening clash, a week before every other round-match to allow for a proper recovery, the front-runner at the moment.
As for the venue, Los Angeles and San Francisco are the obvious choices, though the concept may rest on an International Cricket Council plan to upgrade venues in the area.
