NORTH-East ice hockey is set for a massive boost with a deal to bring the sport back to Newcastle on the verge of being signed.

Bosses at the city's Telewest Arena, which was the home of the region's ill-fated Ice Hockey Superleague (ISL) franchise, say a "significant agreement" has been reached with top speedway promoter Darryl Illingworth.

The Newcastle Diamonds co-promoter, who is credited with turning that sport into a success in the region, now looks like the man ice fans will hope can do the same for their sport.

Illingworth, an avid ice hockey fan, has teamed up with former Newcastle Riverkings coach Alex Dampier - one of the country's most successful bosses in the sport in recent years - to put the plans together.

It is also believed former Sheffield Steelers coach Clyde Tuyl will be involved in the set-up.

Fans have been without ice hockey in Newcastle since the ISL franchise's former owners were stripped of their license following a pay dispute.

Last night Dampier said his vision was for a British National League (BNL) side, centred around talent from the region.

Now that a venue has been agreed, Illingworth and Dampier will take their proposals to the BNL and are hopeful of successfully being granted a franchise.

Previous owners of ISL franchises in the region have found wages costly and it is thought the BNL would be a much more financially viable prospect.

The agreement with the arena is also for three years, giving a longer term future than fans have enjoyed since the sale of the Durham Wasps in 1994.

Dampier told The Northern Echo: "It's a commitment that I think was needed by somebody as opposed to putting in for one year and trying it out.

"The idea is to use as many North-East lads as possible, along with the quota of foreigners we will be allowed."

While many of the bigger names in the region's recent sporting past, such as Great Britain netminder Stephen Foster, are contracted to their present clubs for another season, Dampier hopes they are the sorts of players who will want to return to the North-East in the future.

And he aims to draw on young talent coming through the ranks of clubs like Sunderland to bring about a resurgence in the tradition of the region being a hotbed of developing hockey talent.

During his previous time in Newcastle, the team was run by the ISL in a desperation move to keep the franchise alive, but this meant a shoestring budget which left the club chasing its tail.

This time, Dampier is confident that the team can at least run on an equal financial footing with the rest of the league.

Colin Revel, general manager at the arena, said: "It's pretty exciting. I'm usually a very cautious person and it's all happened very quickly.

"In view of the experiences of the past years, whilst the ice hockey has been of the highest standard ever, the reality of it has been the high cost of wages and, however, loyal the support has been, it hasn't been enough to ensure that the previous owners of teams have come out of it in any reasonable financial shape."

He added BNL hockey was "the way ahead in the region".

Talking about Illingworth, he added: "He's obviously a North-East person and he's passionate about ice hockey. He's done a fantastic job of turning the speedway around.

"I've been very impressed by his enthusiasm and yet realism about the way ahead."

Illingworth himself added: "I just feel the city should have a good ice hockey team."

And he added that any team in Newcastle, whatever the sport, had to be a winning team.

He vowed: "We are not going in there as whipping boys."