The Board of DFC is conscious that it has not been in a position to update fans on progress with a potential new ground.

This is an incredibly complex process involving many stakeholders and is therefore extremely time consuming and unfortunately very slow moving. We hope that fans will understand why we are not in a position to provide details whilst sensitive discussions are ongoing.

At the end of last season, we believed we were very close to having an agreement that may have satisfied everyone involved but new requirements have emerged that have ultimately slowed things down even more.

We continue to work with all the stakeholders to deliver a solution we hope satisfies everyone. Darlington Borough Council has been brilliant with its support throughout this process, and we will continue to explore a satisfactory outcome to the ongoing discussions. 

The aim is to deliver a sustainable sports facility for the town, that hopefully will meet the needs of as many stakeholders as possible but we will not enter any proposal that could jeopardise the long-term future of the football club.

We have seen speculation surrounding a statement issued by Darlington Mowden Park Rugby Club. We have been discussing several options for the arena site, as well as other locations, but what we as a Board are very clear on is that we cannot envisage a move back to the Darlington Arena in its current form, particularly given the significant indebtedness of the Darlington Arena company, which is secured by way of mortgage.

We will continue to work with multiple parties on various locations, and update fans as soon as we are able to make information available. The Board of DFC is committed to finding a long term permanent home to secure the future of our club, and in doing so to realise our ambition of returning to the EFL over time.