ROLL UP! Roll up! Get your season tickets here! That was the cry from new York City chairman John Batchelor who, in an extraordinary move today, got on his soapbox in Parliament Street to urge fans to pack Bootham Crescent next season.

Supporters who collect tokens in the Evening Press and apply for season tickets before May 26 can watch York City next season at last year's prices.

Mr Batchelor said it was vital that the club doubled its season ticket numbers in the wake of ITV Digital's collapse.

He also revealed that he would be meeting Carlton and Granada - the TV giants which own the ailing channel - in a bid to thrash out a take-over deal tomorrow.

Mr Batchelor is heading a consortium which is bidding to acquire the company.

He said: "I am on my soapbox to tell fans who book season tickets that prices are staying the same, with the help of the Evening Press.

"I want to see a full ground next season and we need as many season ticket holders as we can get, especially if there is no ITV Digital money.

"I have got a meeting with Carlton and Granada tomorrow and we should have a decision within the next three to four days. I am hopeful (to complete a deal) if Carlton and Granada are sensible and look at the potential damage they could cause football. I can guarantee that 20 clubs will go bust."

Mr Batchelor was speaking as shareholders in Bootham Crescent Holdings (BCH), the former owner of York City, were told not to expect a pay-out until Bootham Crescent has been sold.

A letter from BCH chairman Douglas Craig sent out to shareholders and leaked to the Evening Press confirms the ground is still owned by the company, despite Mr Batchelor's take-over. It states a "conditional contract" has been entered into to sell Bootham Crescent, but it will be "several months" before any deal is ratified.

Mr Batchelor's deal to take control at City has been bound by confidentiality clauses. However, the Evening Press indicated last month the ground is still owned by BCH, whose majority shareholders are Mr Craig, Barry Swallow, Colin Webb and former club director John Quickfall.

When it was announced last month that Mr Batchelor's take-over of the club had been given a legal seal of approval, a statement from commercial law firm Denison and Till, who completed the deal, said the agreement enabled the club to use Bootham Crescent rent-free.

The ownership of the ground is confirmed in Mr Craig's letter to BCH shareholders.

It states: "The board have entered into a conditional contract to sell the freehold at Bootham Crescent, the location at which York City FC play their home games. The conditional contract is dependent on receipt of a satisfactory planning consent, the outcome of which will not be known for several months at the earliest.

"The board intends to keep shareholders informed of developments and further information will be contained in the company's accounts which will be sent to shareholders prior to the annual general meeting in December 2002. The board does not consider it appropriate to make any distribution to shareholders unless and until Bootham Crescent is sold and should such event occur your board will be writing to you to advise of its intentions."

Updated: 14:11 Thursday, May 09, 2002