A private consortium is moving to take over the Melbourne Boomers – former home of current Opals superstar Elizabeth Cambage and retired legend Michele Timms – as the WNBL faces an eight-team league being cut to six next season.

Bulleen Templestowe Basketball Association, which has run an iconic WNBL team for 32 years and groomed international stars, has notified Basketball Australia it is formally turning in the licence.

The Boomers are at serious risk of being disbanded, which Basketball Australia CEO Anthony Moore lamented on Friday night, telling Fairfax Media: "We don't want to lose any teams. Our desire is to have eight teams in next year's competition, but we do face the reality of a six-team league."

Fairfax has learnt the consortium pushing for private ownership of the Melbourne Boomers has prepared a comprehensive rescue package – including a three-year commitment to substantially underwrite the team – to sport and government chiefs.

It's understood a key part of the takeover proposal presents a collaborative model to support the transition to private ownership. That would include Basketball Australia, Basketball Victoria and the local basketball community, but the takeover ultimately requires approval of other WNBL clubs.

Fairfax has been told up to $750,000 of funding is required to ensure a successful transition for a sustainable Boomers team over the three-year plan.

The Bulleen Templestowe Basketball Association has officially stopped supporting the Boomers financially, after deciding it needed to focus on participation and an upgrade of its home facility in Bulleen.  The association had been contributing between $250,000-350,000 annually to the Melbourne Boomers.

The consortium pushing for private ownership numbers around half-a-dozen members who have been described to Fairfax as keen supporters of women's basketball with strong acumen in business and sport.

The private ownership model before Basketball Australia is understood to be based on a model used at Melbourne Victory, where the set up of having numerous owners is seen to limit risk.

Sport is littered with failed one-owner "wonders" and aside from the Melbourne Boomers the WNBL has recently lost a team on the Gold Coast, and the Adelaide Lightning's licence is in the hands of Basketball Australia. The South East Queensland Stars were put into liquidation in February.

The team previously known as the Bulleen Boomers is renowned for producing players who have represented Australia. Timms, Cambage, Jenna O'Hea and Allison Tranquilli are alumni and Tom Maher, former Opals coach, has directed the team.

Guy Molloy who coached the Boomers in the 2015-16 season is regarded as a future Opals coach and Tess Madgen – the team's captain this year – is touring Japan with the Opals in preparation for the Rio Olympics.

Last champions in 2010-11 and runners-up in 2011/12, Melbourne Boomers were eighth in a nine-team competition this year.

Moore described the consortium's proposal as "very thorough".

"The process for evaluating licences and licence transfers includes a mechanism whereby the other WNBL clubs have a right to comment and provide feedback on the proposal," he said.

"We are currently seeking the views of the other WNBL clubs to feed into our board's decision making."