But shifting at least one ABL regular season game initially to either Launceston or Hobart “certainly would help” the case for a club based out of Tasmania.

ABL general manager Ben Foster admitted the national league remained hesitant to expand hastily while waiting for prospective bidders.

“It was only a couple of years ago that we were talking about some future campaigns and taking a game to Blundstone Arena or Aurora Stadium,” Foster said.

“But not directly have we had what I will classify a serious pitch or tender for a club down there.”

He said penetrating a new untapped sporting market would be exciting, the ABL acutely aware no national club competition had been earmarked for the state yet.

In a vision for the direction of the ABL, Foster said there is no set number of clubs, though eight or 10 from the current six would be ideal.

He added its one-team per city model could benefit the chances of any Tasmanian inclusion, in which the league now favours entering smaller markets, similar to minor league baseball in the US, for greater success.

“They don’t have an NBL team, they don’t have an A-League team, they don’t have any other competitive summer sport where we would go head to head,” Foster said.

Hobart Hurricanes Big Bash League franchise plays four Twenty20 cricket home games in a six-week season.

Foster likened a potential Tasmanian team to Canberra Cavalry’s market due to its smaller size comparing the 380,000 in the nation’s capital to 518,000 in the state.

“We find that our share of voice, particularly with local media, increases significantly and the same could be said for Tasmania,” he said.

Foster said the ABL would consider bringing a game to Tasmania next summer.

“I wouldn’t say its a mandatory precursor to a team (in Tasmania), but it certainly would help,” he said.

“Something like that is something we’d be looking at ways that made sense to us and made sense to whether it be local government, state government or any private ventures that are looking to back an expansion club.

“You would certainly test the market and see what is down there. If the schedule and circumstances were right, I wouldn’t rule that out.

“We will always entertain the idea; it would just come down to making it work within the confines of the schedule and make sure it makes sense for the additional challenges in a non-ABL venue.”

The state government said it was “always willing to talk to sporting organisations”.