BLACKPOOL Football Club directors are adamant they still want what the supporters want - to see their team kick off at a brand new £100million stadium at Whyndyke Farm.

Despite a complete breakdown of negotiations last Friday (October 31) when Blackpool FC started legal action against the landowners, both sides have told the Citizen they still want the scheme to go ahead.

Club chairman Vicki Oyston categorically denied reports she was looking at alternative sites: "Whyndyke Farm is the right site in the right location for Blackpool Football Club," she maintained.

"I drive past it almost daily, I look at the land and I could weep because we're not already starting building work."

The continuing wrangle has baffled Bloomfield Road fans tired of putting up with a shabby outdated stadium and having their hopes dashed.

The two parties reached initial agreement 18 months ago, but the crunch came when Blackpool FC was presented with the final contract by the landowners, laying down not only the share-out of the highly-valuable development land, but also financial responsibility for the costly access roads.

Blackpool FC says the contract now on offer would be "too dangerous" to sign and would put the future of the club in jeopardy.

"The whole point of the legal action is to try to get the landowners back to our original agreement," said Mrs Oyston.

"What they've got to do now is produce a contract that Blackpool FC can sign without any risk of damaging its future.

"We're terribly distressed to have been forced into this action in order to get this land to build the stadium, but we could see no other way forward."

Martin Perry, landowners' spokesman and project director for would-be developers McAlpine, responded: "The landowners are delighted to hear that the football club still want to go to Whyndyke. Let's hope that now we can bring this matter to a speedy conclusion for the benefit of the club and its supporters."

He still hopes to put in the long-awaited planning application, if not tomorrow (November 7) then early next week.

If the football club is still not on board, the original 40,000-seat multi-purpose stadium - on an ideal site next to the M55 exit - is likely to be cut to 25,000, with an 8,000-seat arena.

Under the original terms, Blackpool FC would take 70 acres for a nominal £25,000, with the rest of the 180-acre site turned over to commercial development - large stores, leisure and conference facilities, a hotel, restaurant, pub, bus station and housing.

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