A HILTON Hotel will be built next to Sunderland AFC’s Stadium of Light.

The 140-plus bed development will be carried out by Sunderland FC Developments, a recently-formed company affiliated to the club.

The hotel will provide 100 jobs and its construction will create work for up to 150 people.

A planning application is expected to be submitted to Sunderland City Council next month and public consultation on the plan will be carried out. The hotel could open in 2015.

The proposed site lies between the Sunderland Aquatic Centre and the club’s Black Cat House office block.

If the application gets the green light, work on site would start early next year, with an anticipated opening date of summer 2015.

Council leader Paul Watson welcomed the developmwnt as a boost to the city.

He said: “This is a very exciting development for Sunderland and a statement of confidence in our city and its future, by arguably the most famous hotel chain in the world.

“Having such a quality hotel on Stadium Park will have a tangible economic impact on our city, and particularly its city centre.

“Stadium Park, through the Stadium of Light and the Aquatic Centre, welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, through football matches, concerts and other major events and this extra hotel provision will unlock further growth and development in the city through leisure and business tourism.”