DARLINGTON have ruled out a return to the Arena – and intend to reveal the location of their preferred site for a new stadium in the town before the end of the year.

Quakers have spent the last six years playing at Blackwell Meadows, having opted to groundshare with Darlington RFC after leaving their previous temporary home at Bishop Auckland.

However, they do not own the stadium, and have therefore decided that it does not make financial or practical sense to spend the money that would be required to improve Blackwell Meadows to the level that is required for admission back into the Football League.

“Blackwell Meadows currently meets the criteria National Ground Grading Category B, enabling the club to play in the National League North (Step 2),” said a statement on Darlington’s website. “On reaching the Football League (League Two), the capacity must be increased to 5,000 with 1,000 seats, expanding to 2,000 seats after three years.

“The necessary improvements would cost in the region of £5m. It is extremely difficult to justify this level of investment in a rented facility. In addition, Darlington Rugby Football Club is reluctant to sanction significant alterations as they wish to retain the heritage and character of Blackwell Meadows, a decision which we respect.”

Having concluded they will have to move from their current temporary base, Darlington officials briefly considered returning to their former home at the Arena, which is now owned by Darlington Mowden Park Rugby Club.

The football club were ready to make a temporary switch back to the Arena during the Covid pandemic, but that would only have been for a few games, and discussions over a full-time return quickly threw up a series of issues which proved impossible to resolve.

“The operational running costs and proposed commercial arrangements (at the Arena) do not create a sustainable solution for the long-term future of the club,” said the statement. “Furthermore, both the Rugby Football Union and the National League’s ground grading regulations require its members to hold legal primacy of tenure, which is priority over fixtures in the event of a clash. Unfortunately, a legal and practical solution could not be found.”

As a result, Darlington have decided to build a new community stadium that will fulfil the requirements of the National League and Football League, provide training facilities for all the club’s teams and generate a source of non-matchday income.

Preliminary discussions have already taken place with Darlington Council and the Tees Valley Mayor’s office, with two sites having been identified as potentially viable options.

Both sites were given the provisional green light, and the Darlington hierarchy are currently engaged in an evaluation process that involves assessing the viability of the two sites across a range of different criteria that include deliverability, land values, services and utilities, timescales, highways and infrastructure, capital expenditure, likely impacts and the planning application process.

The evaluation is already well under way, with Darlington hoping to be in a position where they can publicly reveal their preferred site before the end of the year.

“Work is currently ongoing to determine whether either site is suitable for a new stadium,” said the statement. “This is an extremely complex piece of work that we must complete in full.

“Consequently, the directors of DFC believe that it would be inappropriate to comment on a particular location at this moment in time.

“We hope to announce the preferred site before the end of 2022. In the meantime, we continue to be thankful for the incredible backing of our loyal supporters, and we will keep you updated as and when necessary."