The Directors of Darlington Football Club and Darlington Rugby Club are pleased to announce that the “Licence to Groundshare” at Blackwell Meadows and the commercial agreements have been signed today. This will trigger the return of the Football Club to its home at Darlington within Blackwell Meadows.

Both clubs have been working together for several months to satisfy the many grantfunders and stakeholders who will be funding the redevelopment programme. The final stages of the legal process have allowed the signing to take place.

The signing allows both clubs to implement the proposed building and construction requirements and an announcement on main contractors for the works will be made shortly.

DFC Directors John Tempest and Richard Cook want to personally thank the chairman of Darlington RFC. Michael Wilkinson and club secretary Graham Webster  for the many hours of work and dedication they contributed to working with the Football Club to reach this milestone. In addition they want to thank the fans of Darlington Football Club for their patience over recent months but now more than ever request the fans and businesses of the town to rally behind the club this season.

Both clubs would also like to thank Darlington Borough Council for their help and support during the process.

The club, which last season achieved its third promotion in four seasons and will play in the Vanarama National League North in the new season, will also soon be announcing several initiatives aimed at bringing revenue into the club in various ways.

To help with the Back to Darlo Fund, Darlington Football Club play a Newcastle United XI this coming Saturday 16^th July at the Northern Echo Arena with the match sponsored by Virgin Trains. This is followed by a match against a Sunderland XI on Tuesday 19^th kick off 7-30pm – we are still looking for a match sponsor

Tickets are available on the day or in advance at Quaker Retail and the Northern Echo Arena. Corporate boxes are available for both matches.