I HAVE followed the debate over the funding for the proposed new stadium for York City and York City Knights with interest, but consider that one important point seems to have been overlooked.

My point is that as both clubs are professional organisations who should therefore, if they want a new stadium, seek to pay for it themselves. If they don’t have the capital, and obviously they don’t, then they should borrow it commercially. They could also raise cash by putting up admission prices.

What surely they should not expect is handouts from the public. Given the attendance figures both achieve, it would appear that a small minority of the York populace supports either team, so why should the great uninterested pay, especially when allegedly the council is so short of funds for all sorts of much more desirable projects.

It would appear that nationally and locally, the normal financial rules which apply to everyone else are suspended when football is involved.

York City should cut their cloth accordingly and not expect hard-pressed taxpayers to bail them out; and neither should our politicians have anything to do with this scheme unless they want to put their own money in as supporters.

Keith Woodland, Galtres Road, York.