STUDENTS in York are being given a task with a difference – to see if they could build a community stadium for the city with £15 million to play with.

The team in charge of the project to deliver a new home for York City FC and York City Knights has been working with construction students at York College to introduce a real-life scheme into their course.

City of York Council, together with the college, has set them the goal of designing a stadium at Monks Cross, the authority’s chosen site for the venue, which meets the requirements of both football and rugby league, benefits the community, has at least 6,000 seats and is commercially and environmentally sustainable.

Two schemes were this week presented to the authority’s directors, from which a winner will be picked.

York College tutor Dean Starkey said: “This project has given the students a taste for real initiatives and a chance to showcase their talents.”