The Greater Shepparton City Council is leading the pioneering bid, which would see the events shared between several Victorian regional centres including Shepparton, Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong, Mildura, Wodonga and Warrnambool - but not Melbourne.

High-profile figures such as former basketball star Lauren Jackson, former Olympic athlete John Steffensen, former Hawthorn footballer Nick Holland and philanthropist Heloise Pratt are on the 13-member taskforce working group, which is chaired by former Swisse executive Adem Karafili.

Greater Shepparton City Council mayor Dinny Adem, who will formally announce the pitch, called "the people's games" at Victoria Park Lake in Shepparton on Thursday, said if the bid was successful, it would "leave a legacy for millions of people like we have never seen before".

"The economic and social impact will be so significant, not to mention the wave of optimism that would sweep the state," he said.

But the plan has only received lukewarm support from Premier Daniel Andrews who said the government would have a look at the proposal but warned there would be considerable cost.

"There are benefits as well, but you have got to be careful that in prioritising one event you are not having to take money away from a range of other important areas,' Mr Andrews said on Thursday.

"The costs of putting on an event like that, well that money has got to come from somewhere and therefore wouldn't be available for other things.

"I'm not surprised that a lot of people in regional Victoria proud of their community, proud of their offering, are very keen to have the event."

The bid could face competition from Melbourne and other Australian cities, as the Australian Commonwealth Games Association endorses only one Australian bid for the games, which would then be pitched to the international body, the Commonwealth Games Federation. The Australian association will start considering proposals from 2019, but a decision will not be made until 2023.

Mr Adem said the council spent 12 months fine-tuning their pitch, and have identified where infrastructure upgrades were needed.

He estimated that $1 billion would be needed to fund the initiative, but this figure would be confirmed after a feasibility study was undertaken.

If state and federal government funding was guaranteed, the proposal would then be presented to the Commonwealth Games Association.

"We envisage that the focus for proposed competition venues will be on significant upgrades to existing infrastructure . . . rather than building brand new facilities across the board at large expense," Mr Adem said.

"Parties of all political persuasions have been talking for years about the importance of delivering jobs and investment strategies for regional areas and this ambitious but very real proposal will deliver on many, many fronts and for many, many years."

Documents outlining the plan have been sent to Premier Daniel Andrews and Victorian Minister for Sport and Tourism and Major Events John Eren as well as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and federal Sports Minister Greg Hunt.

Mayors of all municipalities involved in the plan will meet on April 28 in Shepparton to discuss the proposal.

Mayor Adem said he believed Geelong's Simonds Stadium was a strong candidate for hosting the opening and closing ceremonies.

Ms Jackson said the impact of an event like this would "hard to imagine."

"It will literally be a game-changer for millions of people and I really hope our dream becomes a reality."

Independent Member for the Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed commended the Shepparton council for their "visionary project".

"In politics, it is so easy to think in the short term only. This is truly planning for our future, and represents the chance for regional Victorian cities to showcase themselves and to participate in the wealth creation that comes from great events," she said.

Mr Adem said the decision to strip the South African city Durban of the 2022 Commonwealth Games due to financial problems was proof of the need to take pressure off individual cities and embrace a "decentralised model" in hosting the games.

Mr Steffensen said the bid would trigger a "transformation of major sporting events."

The proposed venues for Commonwealth games events include:

• Aquatics including Para-Swimming Events - Greater Bendigo Indoor Aquatic Leisure Centre
• Athletics including Para-Athletic Events - Shepparton Sports Precinct at a new stadium
• Badminton - Ballarat Badminton Centre
• Boxing - Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports and Entertainment Complex in Traralgon
• Hockey - Geelong Stead Park Hockey Centre
• Lawn Bowls including Para-Lawn Bowls - Shepparton Park Bowls Club
• Netball - Ballarat Sports and Events Centre
• Men's and Women's Rugby 7's - Simonds Stadium - Geelong
• Squash - Shepparton Sports Stadium
• Weightlifting and Para-Powerlifting - Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports and Entertainment
• Men's Basketball - Shepparton Sports Stadium
• Women's Basketball - Bendigo Stadium
• Road Cycling - Warrnambool and Port Campbell
• Mountain Bike Cycling - Mount Buller
• Track Cycling - Bendigo's Tom Flood Centre
• Diving - Greater Bendigo Indoor Aquatic Leisure Centre
• Gymnastics - Geelong Convention Centre
• Rowing - Lake Nagambie
• Sailing - Lake Mulwala, Yarrawonga
• Tennis - Wodonga Lawn Tennis Centre
• Triathlon - Victoria Park Lake, Shepparton

with Richard Willingham