Naseby Battlefield Project (NBP) wants to build the centre at the Northamptonshire site of the decisive battle of the English Civil War.
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has given the group £9,900 to pay for a feasibility study and consultation.
NBP will then apply for a grant to build the centre.
The battle took place on 14 June 1645, when the army of parliament destroyed the King's army in fields just outside the village of Naseby.
The NBP Trustees and Patrons want to create the Naseby Battlefield Visitor Centre as an information resource about the battle itself, the Civil War, the political and social history of the era, the rural environment in the 1600s and what life was like at the time.
NBP chairman Lord Arthur Hazelrigg, said: "We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund to develop our plans for a visitor centre that will bring the Battle of Naseby to the national prominence it deserves.
Mike Ingram, project trustee, said the centre "would be somewhere to anchor the story and show artefacts of the battle".

Five out of six (84%) of those who voted in the ballot backed walkouts and the union said its leaders will now consider their next move.
Destinations on the line include London, Aberdeen, Inverness and Hull.
Virgin Trains responded to the result by saying it would run a full timetable during any RMT strike action.
The two sides are in dispute over staffing changes, which the company says would have no impact on safety and no compulsory job losses.
The union's general secretary Mick Cash said: "RMT will not sit back while nearly 200 members' jobs are under threat and also conditions and safety are put at risk."
David Horne, managing director for Virgin Trains on the east coast, said: "With our guarantees that there will be no compulsory redundancies, no impact on safety and a full timetable in place during any action, we urge the RMT not to call a strike which will cost its members pay for no reason, and to rejoin us around the negotiating table."
A project to build a visitors' centre, costing more than £1m, for the site of one of most key battles in English history has won a lottery grant.
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Virgin East Coast rail workers have voted to go out on strike in a dispute over job cuts, working conditions and safety, the RMT union has said.