Hockey New Zealand called for expressions of interest in October.
Investment has been secured for one franchise, but the national body is hoping to lock down interest for another three teams. One of those teams will be based in the South Island.
The new league will have four franchises, each having a men’s and a women’s team.
It is hoped the league will start in November.
The teams will play each other in a home-and-away round robin followed by a final.
The league will include New Zealand’s best players and the odd import.
McLean said it was "designed to fill the high performance gap" and serve as an aspirational pathway.
"But it is also designed to engage fans and to be broadcast and to grow the profile in the supporter base of hockey,’ he said.
"The intention of the South Island licence is for the games to be shared around.
"Obviously there are a number of associations in the South Island but the two tier one associations are Otago and Canterbury.
"The intention is for us to work closely together on forming that South Island franchise. But effectively it will be a private ownership model, so how that is structured ultimately will come down to the investor."
Both associations were in the "early stages of working through it", McLean said.
Nothing would be finalised this side of the New Year, he added.
Otago beat Canterbury 2-1 to defend their national title this season, so the power base of men’s hockey is arguably in the South Island.
