A shift to Cambridge, near Hamilton, is almost certain after that.
Hall of fame chairman Stuart McLauchlan said a final call about the sports museum’s new home would be made before the end of this year.
Mr McLauchlan said it was highly likely a deal would come together to relocate the hall to Cambridge and details were close to being finalised.
However, finance would need to be in place and there was some uncertainty about construction timelines.
It was expected the new facility would take about two years to build.
The hall of fame was established in 1990, but it did not have a physical site open to the public until 1999, after an offer had been accepted from the Dunedin City Council to host it at the Dunedin Railway Station.
Memorabilia includes a bike from 2004 Olympics gold medallist Sarah Ulmer, a leather arm guard worn by Sir Colin Meads in a rugby test against South Africa, one of the Olympic gold medals middle-distance runner Sir Peter Snell won at Tokyo in 1964, and New Zealand’s first Olympics gold medal won by boxer Ted Morgan in 1928.
The operation relied heavily on chief executive Ron Palenski, who was himself inducted into the sports hall of fame last week.
In recent years, doubt intensified that the railway station continued to be the best home for the hall and Sport New Zealand suspended an annual grant before alternative options were examined.
Some momentum built up for keeping the hall in Dunedin, particularly when Sir Eion Edgar donated $500,000 to the cause last year, but the Dunedin City Council chose to stay out of an expressions-of-interest process.
Mr McLauchlan said Dunedin had been a great host.
However, trustees for the organisation running the hall had to do what was best for its future.
The new hall would include digital and interactive elements.
"It will be available to all of New Zealand," Mr McLauchlan said.
The hall was talking to Sport New Zealand about transitional funding.
