THE empty Huntington Stadium standing is costing City of York Council £25,000 a month, and project managers want to demolish the buildings before final building contracts are signed to save thousands in tax and safety costs.

The stadium has cost the council £18,000 a month in non domestic rates, plus around £7,000 for security and emergency maintenance, every month since it was left empty.

Now a detailed building timetable has shown it is likely to be early 2016 when construction workers move in, and council staff are pushing for the stadium to be pulled down much sooner.

In a report to City of York's ruling Executive, the programme manager Tim Atkins warns councillors that monthly costs are likely to rise in the wait for building to start, and asks them to bring forward some of the early works needed for the project.

Among these works is the extension of the Monks Cross park and ride, detailed design work, and demolition - which together will save time, open up the possibility that building could be brought forward, and save money.

York Press: An artist’s impression of the community stadium

The current completion estimate for the new stadium is spring 2017 

A council spokesman has said the demolition work is as much about safety as it is cash savings, and stadium is a "potentially dangerous structure".

The Knights played their last game at the stadium in September last year, and have since then used different locations for their home games, but an archaeological dig has been the only work to take place on site.

The spokesman said the stadium's poor condition - and the aftermath of intrusive surveys which had to be carried out for the bigger Community Stadium project - meant the Huntington venue would not have been safe for public events over the summer.

Moving the date of the dig - which was crucial for the planning permission - would have gone against a contract and brought "financial consequences", she added.

Thursday's Executive meeting will receive a report on the project's progress which says the final Design, Build, Operate and Maintain contract should be signed for the stadium in January or February next year. Building work would then start by March and be completed by the following summer.