But its attempt may be a waste of time, with the New Zealand Rugby Union questioning yesterday whether the country could sustain a sixth franchise.
The Hawkes Bay union and the Taranaki region have registered expressions of interest with the NZRU over establishing a team in the expanded Super 15 in 2011.
The 15th team will be added to the Australian conference.
There have been seven bids made by Australian groups while there is also strong interest from South Africa, which believes it has the financial muscle and fan base to have a sixth team in the competition.
Hawkes Bay chief executive Mike Bishop admitted the NZRU had made it clear it was happy having five franchises in New Zealand.
"But we've thought long and hard about it and believe there is the interest and the support here to maintain a franchise," he said.
"We are averaging 10,500 to 11,000 in our last couple of seasons for Air New Zealand Cup games and that would be one of the highest in the country. Our crowds have been starved of top-class rugby for years."
Bishop doubted supporters would be turned off by having more rugby, and said there had been successful eras of rugby in Hawkes Bay where support had consistently been high.
He pointed to a strong player base, with the team having 11 Super 14 players.
The new team could be coached by Highlanders assistant Peter Russell and Hawkes Bay assistant coach and former Otago player Tom Coventry, he said.
Bishop said in no way was the move an attempt to get the Highlanders into Hawkes Bay.
"We're fully aware that the New Zealand Rugby Union are quite comfortable with the five franchises and where they are within the country. But the opportunity for a franchise came up and we thought we would have a go."
Hawkes Bay and Otago had connections, with six Hawkes Bay players in the Highlanders this year, while many Hawkes Bay schoolboys moved south for tertiary study.
Bishop had not talked to any other neighbouring unions.
The Hurricanes franchise, which at present includes Hawkes Bay, was relaxed about the move, he said.
The Hawkes Bay area had a population of 152,000 but that would swell if Manawatu, Poverty Bay and Taupo were included.
Manawatu and Hawkes Bay combined in the late 1990s to form the ill-fated Central Vikings team, which folded after a few years.
Bishop said it was a big step up from provincial rugby to Super 14 but said no province was prepared for it in 1995 when the sport went professional, so there was little difference between then and now.
Sponsors were involved and supportive of the bid.
NZRU chief executive Steve Tew said there was a big question mark over the ability to sustain more than five franchises in the country.
The national union would assess the two bids, and decide whether they should be passed on to Sanzar.
Sanzar will consider applications next month, and will then decide how many of them will proceed to the next stage of presenting a full bid document.
A final decision on the successful bidder will be made in late October.
