Perennially popular Melbourne restaurant Chin Chin will open a venue inside Geelong’s upgraded football stadium, in a vote of confidence for the regional centre and something of a homecoming for Chin Chin founder Chris Lucas, who lived in the city until the age of 22.

“I could never have imagined as a 10-year-old going to the footy that there would be one of my restaurants sitting in the grandstand,” says Lucas.

Called Club Chin Chin, the 200-seat restaurant decked out with neon pink lighting will sit on level three of the new grandstand at GMHBA Stadium, part of a $142-million upgrade to the home ground of the Geelong Cats (which is also Lucas’s club).

Live DJs, neon pink lighting, feed-me menus, trade on non-game days, and an allocation of tables for players’ families are all part of the package.

Initially planned as a 12-month pop-up, the restaurant will open by the end of April after works are finished to the dining room, kitchen, entrance and lighting.

“We’re not just putting up a couple of temporary posters or anything like that. We are actually undertaking a reasonably detailed fit-out of the space,” says Lucas.

“I’m very open-minded about maybe making it a permanent experience,” says Lucas.

The menu will include six to seven brand-new dishes for Geelong plus Chin Chin favourites, such as crisp barramundi with green apple salad and massaman curry of beef brisket. Executive chef Benjamin Cooper is researching locally grown ingredients, such as mushrooms, lettuces and pork, for the new dishes.

Lucas estimates the venue will employ 150 people in Geelong.

Club Chin Chin joins a growing number of established restaurants partnering with sporting grounds around the world, from Nobu and Merivale venues including Totti’s in Sydney to Guy Fieri at Las Vegas’s Allegiant Stadium.

Neon pink bunnies – the Chin Chin mascot – will dot the surrounding Kardinia Park precinct, acting as wayfinders, and be installed in the restaurant’s windows.

“You’re going to see a lot of pink,” says Lucas.

They join street-art posters and other design touches from the Melbourne original, which opened on Flinders Lane in 2011.

The early stages of the project will focus on sit-down dining, but future plans include Chin Chin eats around the ground during AFL games, whether it’s takeaway items or stands selling curries, and events such as cooking classes throughout the year.

Lucas says Club Chin Chin will be open Thursday to Sunday for dinner, and Friday to Sunday for lunch.