ETIHAD Stadium will be bulldozed within 20 years.

That's the prediction of the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Cr Robert Doyle, who told a forum into the future of Melbourne that the 15-year-old stadium cuts off the entire Docklands region from the central business district.

The forum, which was broadcast on radio station 3AW, was discussing how Melbourne might look in 2035.

"In the timeframe you're talking about, Etihad Stadium will disappear," he said. "It will be bulldozed."

Cr Doyle proposed that Etihad Stadium be replaced by a new football stadium at Western Park, which is located in the Docklands area at the end of the New Quay precinct, almost beneath the Bolte Bridge.

"There is room down there to put an AFL-sized ground and it doesn't block off the city from Docklands," he said.

Cr Doyle, who on Thursday announced he would be standing for a third term as Melbourne's Lord Mayor, also suggested that the proposed new stadium could also serve as a permanent home for the Melbourne Football Club. 

"It would be a tragedy if the Melbourne footy club didn't have a presence in the city after which it is named," he said. 

Etihad Stadium opened in 2000 with the AFL as the anchor tenant, replacing Waverley Park, which was closed down. It is owned by James Fielding Funds Management but is due to revert to AFL ownership in March 2025.

The League has been negotiating unsuccessfully for several years to purchase the stadium earlier, so that it could take control of its lucrative management rights and ensure better matchday returns for its primary tenant clubs – Essendon, North Melbourne, Carlton, St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs.

Etihad is also used extensively for other sports including cricket, soccer and - this weekend - UFC as well as concerts, while the AFL administration is also housed there. 

Etihad Stadium chief executive Paul Sergeant said Cr Doyle was entitled to his opinion.

"We are aware of the Lord Mayor’s comments and our door is always open to him to come and talk to us," he said.

"However, at this time all our focus is on delivering a successful UFC event this coming weekend which will be viewed by what may be a world record UFC attendance as well as global TV audience measured in the tens of millions."

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan is out of the country and there was no comment from the League.