The new shape and form of the Super rugby competition is still up in the air but New Zealand franchises are firm in their belief in maintaining eight home games.
The broadcasting deal for the Sanzar competition ends at the conclusion of the Super 15 season in 2015, which is two full seasons away. But there has been much speculation on what form the competition will take in 2016.
South Africa has already said it wants to have another team, while there has been talk of teams coming in from Japan, the Pacific Islands or Argentina.
Highlanders general manager Roger Clark said the franchises were due to get an update from the New Zealand Rugby Union next week but at the moment there appeared to be no preferred option.
''It is important for us to have a minimum of eight home games. You want to have that number of games in terms of your stadia and generating revenue,'' he said.
''All five franchises are agreed on that. Commercially the derbies are popular with the fans ... they are the most popular. They draw the biggest crowds.
''But from a player's and coach's perspective they are very competitive. They beat each other up.''
Players were keen to have a competition where every team played each other in a true round-robin format but that was not possible at the moment, Clark said, due to the crowded playing calender.
A team from Japan or Argentina looks more likely than a Pacific Islands team based in Auckland, while South Africa appears guaranteed to get a sixth team, as it provides the financial clout in the competition.
New Zealand was unlikely to want another team.
Clark said he doubted whether there was the player depth for a sixth team.
''And I think a sixth team would take away more from the ITM Cup. Having 14 teams in the ITM Cup and five Super rugby teams is just about right for a country of 4.5 million people.
''I think if you look at Australia, they could almost field a team of expats if you combine everyone in their teams.''
No definite time line has been set to have the new structure finalised but Sanzar is expected to start talking with broadcasters early next year.
