THE new football stadium being planned for York is likely to also house York City Knights RLC, the Evening Press can reveal.

The idea of a ground-share in the city has long been mooted, especially since the Bootham Crescent issue came to a head in 2002 when former chairman Douglas Craig first warned that the football club would have to move out.

But there has been no mention of the Knights moving into the proposed new 10,000 all-seater ground - until today.

As revealed by the Press last week, York City FC need to find a new home by 2007 to avoid financial penalties incorporated in the terms of a loan which has allowed them to stay at Bootham Crescent for the time being. The same conditions require a planning application to be submitted by 2009 and relocation to the new stadium within the following five years.

The Press has now learned that the Knights could also be involved.

Leader of City of York Council Steve Galloway confirmed: "Discussions are only starting but the working assumption is that if we're going to have a purpose-built stadium it would be used by the rugby league club as well as the football club.

"Discussions with the rugby club have taken place over the last year and they're well aware of what opportunities might arise in the next five to ten years. But it's early days yet."

He added: "The council is not taking any view on the idea of a ground-share and is not likely to for a couple of years at least. It all depends on what opportunities develop and what's in the best interests of sport in the city."

The Knights, if they were to realise their goal of playing in rugby league's top-flight, would need to either upgrade Huntington Stadium or move to a different ground in order to meet Super League standards.

The new stadium could fit in with that, but Knights majority shareholder John Guildford said a lot was yet to be decided.

"It would be nice for all parties and for York as a whole to think we would have a nice new stadium that we could all play in," he said.

"But there is still a lot of work to do and a lot of discussions to be had for that to become a reality."

One hurdle to overcome would regard who actually owned the ground. An option could be to put the stadium in the hands of a York sporting trust or a holding company in which interested parties have a share. City managing director Jason McGill, however, claimed the football club would be the "dominant stakeholder".

He said: "There have been no discussions between York City and York City Knights and any future stadium aspirations of York City have to be looked at on a commercial basis.

"York City are still very open to holding a meeting with the Knights to discuss their ambitions.

"Nothing can be ruled out but at this stage the proposed new stadium's funding has been acquired by the football club and, as a consequence, the football club will be the dominant stakeholder."

The Press revealed last week that the new stadium would cost about £8.5million.

It is envisaged that £2.5m would come from a Football Foundation grant when Bootham Crescent is sold and City's current loan from the football charity paid off, while the equity from the sale of Bootham Crescent would also go towards the new stadium.

However, this total would still fall short of the construction costs and the football club are currently seeking a commercial partner to make up the shortfall.

In similar scenarios across the country, local councils or 'enabling developments', such as cinema and hotel complexes, have filled this role.

As regards the idea of the council footing the bill, Galloway added: "The council has said it will support the board of York City in their search for a new ground and that is the next step. The nature of that support is the matter of ongoing discussions and it's too soon to speculate about what it might develop into in the course of time."

Updated: 11:17 Wednesday, June 16, 2004