Baseball Australia chief executive Cam Vale made the announcement on Tuesday.

But Vale said Tasmania will be a priority bidder when the ABL plans to further expand from eight clubs to 10 ahead of the 2019-2020 season. 

“I’m very serious that we see Tasmania part of this league,” Vale said.

“Tasmania is not part of this initial expansion, but we are very keen to push on.”

Vale said the state election – waiting for the incumbent government – stalled Tasmania’s entry for 12 months.

But Baseball Australia’s negotiations with Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman will continue later this month.

“The next step is to reposition what a team would look like and a level of investment that is needed,” Vale said. 

“We’re not talking teams that need millions of dollars.”

Running an Australian ball club will cost about $700,000-800,000 per season.

An AFL club runs on close to $50 million a year, all the while the state government pumps $19 million over five years to host four Hawthorn games a year in Launceston.

The ABL will expand this summer from six clubs and a 120-game roster to eight clubs and a Major League Baseball-type, two division schedule full of 160 games.

The plan is to eventually add a further four more clubs over the next couple of years.

Vale is committed to a bullish approach for Tasmania.

“The opportunity is still there, so we will consider its expansion for the following season,” he said.

“We now have a 10-month window to get a team up in Tasmania for 2019-2020.

“So we want to have this settled by the end of March 2019 if it’s going to happen.”

Vale is also insistent the state’s team will play out of multiple Tasmanian cities.

“There is an ability to move content around whether it’s Launceston or Hobart, or Devonport or Burnie, to take the game across the state and be a true team for the state.”

Baseball Australia is set to name the location of its Winterball Korea side next week, accompanying the regional city’s name and moniker.

Vale said that Tasmania was considered after Korean baseball officials inspected a number of possible venues.

But both UTAS Stadium and North Hobart Oval were ruled out as unsuitable.

“For a team like that, the importance of the venue particularly from a broadcasting perspective certainly needs to be established,” Vale said.

Baseball Australia already has a vision for Tasmania.

“The model we will look at for Tasmania is an Australian licence,” Vale said. “We want a Tasmanian team to be filled by Australian development players because baseball is not a huge sport in Tasmania at this point in time.

“Our strongest option is to target 12 to 14 Australians on the fringe of Australian selection and some that come back from US colleges.

“It will almost be a team of opportunity that will be complemented by 10 imports, with a mix of five or six out of Asia and four or five out of an American affiliate from one of the MLB clubs.”