And he hoped the club would soon have a south-east Queensland rival when Football Federation Australia decides, as expected, to expand from 10 to 12 teams in time for the next television deal at the end of season 2016-17.

Speaking at the team's training session at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday, Roar general manager Sean Dobson said the signs for the club's upcoming season were good.

"We finished last year on 8112 members and we were at 11,400 or 11,500 this morning, and that's huge and a record for the club," he said.

"We're looking at an 18,000 [attendance] average as our internal target. The forecast is a little bit higher but I think 18's about right."

That was helped along by the drawing power of Melbourne City, featuring Spanish World Cup star David Villa, who will be in town on November 8, and the fact that big-drawers Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory would play twice at Suncorp Stadium in 2014-15.

Sales for the Melbourne City clash were going "gangbusters", Dobson said, with the club already tracking towards a crowd of 28,000.

Looking further ahead, Dobson said he saw a real opportunity for another south-east Queensland A-League club "in two to three years".

"I know the FFA are looking very closely at another team in Queensland and in particular south-east Queensland," he said.

"…It will be interesting to see if they look at a second team in Brisbane, or if they go with Ipswich, or Logan, or the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast."

For it to work, however, Dobson said there needed to be an "identity difference" between the new club and the Roar, such as the east-west divide in the rivalry between Sydney FC and the Western Sydney Wanderers.

"You don't have a north-south or an east-west divide in Brisbane and while we have a river running through, it doesn't really separate the city in terms of how we view the city, although it may limit where you go for a cup of coffee," he said.

"…So for my mind, I think ideally you'd like to see somewhere like the Gold Coast, because there's a difference. Ipswich, there's a difference; in Logan there's probably not that difference."

Dobson said the disastrous off-field performance of the Clive Palmer-owned Gold Coast United should not prevent another team setting up a base in Australia's largest non-capital city.

But he said he thought Wollongong, south of Sydney, would be the next A-League cab off the rank.

"The population of Wollongong are doing all the right things," Dobson said.

"Six or seven thousand for the All-Stars and the Young Socceroos, the FFA Cup game down there, once again, with six or seven thousand people.

"It's consistent support and it's a rocking little stadium and a great football culture – they've got history and they've got roots."

On the field, Dobson said he expected big things from Mike Mulvey's side in 2014-15.

"Third place is average, top two is where we want to be and anything less we'll take a good hard look at ourselves," he said.

And the chances of another "Orange Sunday" – a fourth home grand final in five years?

"Mate, we'd take them every year if we could," Dobson said.

The Brisbane Roar starts its A-League season against Adelaide United at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Kick-off is at 4pm.