11:38am Friday 25th June 2010
By Mark Stead
York City have set their sights on a move to a new community stadium at Monks Cross.
The Minstermen's chairman Jason McGill says demolishing Huntington Stadium, the current home of York City Knights, and building a new arena to house both clubs is now seen as the best way forward for City.
City of York Council has today revealed the four sites on the shortlist for the community stadium, with one including the existing rugby league ground and the adjacent Vangarde land at Monks Cross previously earmarked for a HSBC data centre.
The other options are redevloping City's Bootham Crescent home, which would involve buying the neighbouring Duncombe Barracks, a Hull Road site next to the University of York's new Heslington East campus, and on the Nestle North and Mille Crux site off Haxby Road.
The council's executive will be asked to consider the four options at its July 6 meeting, with the initial proposals focusing on a 6,000-seat stadium with office space and health and fitness facilities. Athletics facilities would be provided at a separate site.
Residents will be asked to give their views on their preferred option over the next week, but the team behind the community stadium project has warned each of the options contains a funding gap which will have to be bridged and any scheme would have to be part-funded by contributions from developers.
"We have a preferred site, and that would be not a redeveloped stadium at Monks Cross, but a totally new stadium there," said Mr McGill.
"That is the option which will deliver the best timeline and economic generation facilities for the football club and help us prosper. But we would not support a purely refurbished Huntington Stadium."
* For the full story, see The Press on Saturday
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