"In the next few days York City Football Club is facing extinction. Or it can be saved. City of York Council believes it should be, and could be, saved.

"The three leaders of the political groups on the council and the executive member for leisure have been working closely together, since the concerns about the club's commercial viability started to emerge, to find a solution for the future of the football club. They have been closely involved, sometimes directly, in the talks to date.

"The council believes it should be saved because, whether you like football or not, the club is an important asset in the diverse sporting, cultural and recreational life of York which would be diminished by the loss of the football club.

"The council believes in a city which enhances the life of all York's residents and believes that the whole community of York would not wish to see one section of its community impoverished by the loss of the football club.

"The council believes the club could be saved, but it will require intensive effort, as well as goodwill on the part of those in whose hands lies the power to thwart a rescue.

"The council has been willing to work with any bidder who can put together a viable business plan for the club and who can demonstrate their commitment to save the club for the city as a whole. Only one potential bidder meeting these criteria has so far come forward to work with the council.

"However, the council has asked the club's administrator to put us in touch with any other bidder whom the council could work with. The bidder the council is currently working with is a potential consortium of local business people who are involving the supporters' trust.

"The council is therefore working with this potential consortium and making every effort to support a viable bid to save the football club. Responsibility for the bid remains, however, with the consortium. We are doing all we can to assist the bid. But the council should not be in the business of using and putting at risk public money to run a commercial football club.

"The problems facing bidders are immense. There is a deadline of January 18 for bids to be prepared. The club has significant debts and will not last to the end of the season without a large injection of cash.

"Yet the club has no ground to play on at the end of the season. It is not realistic to expect a bidder to inject significant cash into the club from January 18 with no security of having somewhere to play next season, and we have recognised that this is a key issue where the council can assist.

"If the club played at another club's ground for a season or two the commercial viability of the club would be affected in terms of gate receipts. If the club cannot stay on at Bootham Crescent at least for a season or two the outlook appears bleak. It will therefore be a vital part of any bid that the club has a secure home for an interim period while it finds a new long term home.

"Bootham Crescent is the natural home of the club and in many ways offers the best long term home, as many fans have said, if Bootham Crescent Holdings reconsidered its decision to sell.

The council has explored ways in which the club could continue to play at Bootham Crescent by testing out an approach under which the council could swap adjacent land at Shipton Street for a share in Bootham Crescent.

"This was not acceptable to other parties at that time but we have not yet given up on the option of the council having a stake in Bootham Crescent and we will continue to have talks to explore this.

"If Bootham Crescent is not to be the club's long term home then the council, albeit reluctantly, accepts the view of those it is working with that the only realistic alternative to Bootham Crescent which can be brought to fruition over the next year or two is Huntington Stadium.

"We will do all we can to make available Huntington Stadium, but it cannot be done overnight and there are significant financial and other issues involved. Not only would new stands have to be build at Huntington Stadium, but there are also significant planning implications and the interests of Cannons, the rugby and athletics clubs, Monks Cross businesses, Huntington residents and others to be taken into account through the proper planning processes.

"The council is continuing to hold talks with all those who might be able to play a part in securing the club for the city as a whole for the long term. Cooperation and a willingness to find a solution will be paramount. We will play our part. But securing a temporary home by January 18 in order that a cash injection can sensibly be made by that date and space be given to develop an alternative home remains the most problematic hurdle to overcome."

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