HOPES that York City Knights are to be brought back into the community stadium project have been boosted after the club declared that "positive news will be in the public domain very soon".

Talks between the club's new board of directors and project leaders City of York Council have been ongoing and the statement - plus confirmation from the council - suggests an agreement is now close.

It comes on the eve of the Knights' "home" match against South Wales Scorpions tomorrow night, which has had to be switched to Featherstone Rovers' Big Fellas Stadium, 31 miles out the city, due to the club's current homelessness.

The club statement said: "The new board are pleased to announce that discussions are progressing well with City of York Council regarding the future of the club and its involvement with the community stadium.

"They would like to reassure fans that positive news will be in the public domain very soon and a joint announcement will be made by the Rugby Football League, York City Knights and City of York Council in the very near future.

"We appreciate the patience of fans and sponsors over the past months and hope that people will turn out in force on Friday night to support James Ford and his squad in their game against South Wales Scorpions and kickstart what could be a positive week for the club."

A council spokesman said: "We can confirm details in the statement are correct. There is nothing we can add at this stage."

The community stadium project involves the Knights' old council-owned Huntington Stadium home being redeveloped into a new 8,000-seater venue for both rugby league and York City Football Club.

In the interim, the Knights were supposed to play games at City's Bootham Crescent ground and train at new York St John University facilities, but failure to reach agreement following a major falling-out between the council and under-fire club owner John Guildford left them homeless.

The new board was brought in earlier this year to take over stadium negotiations from Guildford after the council said it would not work with him again.

It initially comprised Dave Baldwin, Stephen Knowles, Neil Jennings and Gary Dickenson, though Dickenson later stood down.

While those talks have gone on, the team have needed special dispensation from the Rugby Football League to play their last two home matches at York RUFC's Clifton Park ground, which does not meet League One standards. That venue, however, is unavailable this weekend due to work on the pitch.

Amid the saga, the Knights Independent Supporters Club have called for Guildford to cede ownership of the club, backing moves by City's owners, JM Packaging, to take over.