York City facing fight for survival

Hard-up York City will resign from the Football League in 82 days' time if they cannot find a buyer, the club announced yesterday.

A blueprint for the sale of the Third Division side underlined the board's determination to close the club down if new owners cannot be found. It stated the club have given "provisional notice" of their intention to resign from membership of the Football League at the end of the current season.

If no sale is agreed by the end of March the club will confirm their resignation on 1 April, although they would fulfil their fixtures for the remainder of the season.

The document, circulated by Bootham Crescent Holdings (BCH) to prospective buyers, also states that unless new club owners can pay £4.5m to acquire BCH, the club must find a new venue from next season.

Should the club still be in existence by then, Bootham Crescent would cease to be their home. The document makes it clear that the most likely venue would be Huntington Stadium, home to the rugby league side York Wasps. The York chairman, Douglas Craig, confirmed that he had received "eight or nine" expressions of interest in the club.