Darlington Football Club could return to its old 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.

Quakers were plunged into turmoil on Christmas Eve after 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 the 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 safety certificates from the council.

Mr Reynolds claims the ground has been "condemned".

He says the Quakers had no alternative but to build a new home.

But council leader John Williams said he would need to ask planning officials to investigate the ground's status as a possible home.

He said he did not know if Mr Reynolds' claims that Feethams had been condemned were correct or not.

"I would need to speak to council officers about that," he said.

Match report - Page 18