"Our aim is to approach other interested parties to join us in the establishment of an Education and Sports Foundation for Tauranga," Mr Owens said.
The initiative has been embraced by the Bay's top rugby and cricket administrators, who see the scholarships as helping to create a climate of sporting excellence in Tauranga.
Waikato University's senior deputy vice-chancellor, Professor Alister Jones, said it was an exciting initiative and he looked forward to sitting down with Mr Owens to explore his expectations for the scholarships.
"There are raft of ways of structuring scholarships. We would be very happy to have that conversation."
The manager of cricket's Bay Oval Trust, Kelvin Jones, said the scholarships were a fantastic move.
Anything that helped keep athletes in the area or encouraged out-of-towners to come to Tauranga to study and play sport had to be good.
Part of the reason for building the Bay Oval had been to provide facilities so cricketers did not have to leave town for training.
"We have reversed that to the point we are getting athletes coming here to train. The scholarships will compliment that."
He said the scholarships could become an important piece of a larger picture that included the University of Waikato Adams Centre of High Performance in Mount Maunganui.
Cricket Bay of Plenty chief executive Chris Rapson saw it as part of Tauranga's coming of age in which the philanthropic community would have an important role to play.
Helping to retain some of the Bay's young cricketing talent and attracting others in the critical years of their career development was good news.
The scholarships would also help the case for Tauranga to be chosen as New Zealand cricket's Centre of Excellence.
"The scholarships would be icing on the cake," he said.
Bay of Plenty Rugby Union chief executive Mike Rogers said the scholarship model had been successful in the USA and he saw no reason why it would not work in Tauranga.
He said the Mount's high performance centre was equal to anything in the country and Mr Owens' initiative would create another advantage towards retaining and attracting young rugby talent to Tauranga.
"We have been on the back foot for a long time. We have been a bit of an exporter of our talented young people. We would be privileged to work alongside Doug and others who want to contribute - there's a lot of scope."
Mr Cronin said people would support the foundation provided it was set up properly.
"It is part of the evolution of Tauranga, it is a sign the city is growing up."
The Owens Charitable Trust scholarships offered to Tauranga secondary schools would not be affected.
America's athletic scholarship system
- Caps the number of student athletes participating in a sport
- Minimum academic qualifying standards
- Binds student athletes to the institution