Darlington Football Club could return to its former Feethams ground if administrators believe the move makes financial sense, it emerged last night.

Officials from Darlington Cricket Club, which administers the 120-year-old ground, said they would not stand in the way of a return.

The offer came on the eve of a meeting between business leaders in the town over the club's future.

The Quakers were plunged into turmoil on Christmas Eve, when chairman George Reynolds put the club into administration to avoid it being wound up by the Inland Revenue.

Although the club has a 25,000-seat stadium on the edge of town, a run of poor results on the pitch has seen crowd attendance dwindle to a few thousand.

Some fans fear the £20m Reynolds Arena is too big for a club near the bottom of Division Three, and a more modest home such as Feethams would be cheaper.

Mr Reynolds maintains the club can fight its way out of the financial mire, but only if Darlington Borough Council lifts planning restrictions preventing him from holding activities such as car boot sales.

Although a return to Feethams has been mooted as a possibility, there remain formidable obstacles.

The ground has not been used for months and would need money spending on it.

The club would also have to negotiate a new lease with the cricket club and obtain council safety certificates.

At the moment, every penny is needed to keep the Quakers afloat and administrators may feel a return to Feethams is too expensive.

Mr Reynolds says the ground is too dilapidated to be a viable venue for football.

But Darlington council leader John Williams said last night he would need to ask planning officials to investigate the ground's status as an alternative home.

"We are very conscious of the importance of the future of the club to the Darlington community and it is something we will be taking a close interest in," he said.

Peter Ashmore, of the supporters trust, said members were prepared to examine anything that ensured the club could stand on its own feet.

"We are not saying we want to move back to Feethams, we just want the club to survive," he said.

"It is up to whoever is in control of the club to decide where it should be. We are totally behind the club, and its survival is our main aim."

A collection by the trust at the Boxing Day match against Huddersfield raised about £2,000, taking the total raised through collections at the ground to £5,000.

Yesterday's game against fellow Third Division strugglers Carlisle was delayed because of crowd congestion. The match finished in a 1-1 draw.