YORK City Football Club has completed its sale of Bootham Crescent to Persimmon Homes for £7 million.

The club's home for nearly 90 years - until its move to the new LNER Community Stadium at Monks Cross - will now be re-developed with 93 new homes.

Persimmon said work would commence shortly on clearing the dormant 4.25 acre brownfield site, where York City played from 1932 until 2020.

A spokesman said its plans would see the history of the ground preserved for residents and the wider community to enjoy.

"Both residents and wider public will be able to reflect on the history of the ground with the creation of a memorial garden incorporating a section of terracing from the old Popular Stand," he said.

"The centre circle of the pitch will also be retained within a large open space accessible to the public.

"In addition to preserving the legacy of the football ground, Persimmon Homes is investing almost £200,000 in sustainable travel, sports infrastructure and education including £100,000 to fund extra school places."

The spokesman added that 19 of the new properties would be transferred to a housing association, including houses to be made available for social rent and discount sale.

Scott Waters, managing director of Persimmon Homes Yorkshire, said he was delighted to have completed the purchase of a place with such a long and rich cultural heritage.

“We’d like to thank the football club and City of York Council for working with us over the years to help make the sale as smooth as possible and enable the football club to make the successful transition to the new community stadium," he said.

“The preservation of the ground’s history is absolutely central to our redevelopment plans to provide a fitting and lasting legacy that fans, residents and the wider public can enjoy.

“As the new custodians of the site, preserving its heritage in a way that the community can be proud is of vital importance and we are excited to start work on bringing these plans to life.

“Both the club and fans have played an important role in helping finalise these exciting legacy plans and we will be providing updates on these in the coming months.”

York City Football Club said the stadium had been sold to Persimmon for £7 million, and the sale had allowed the club to pay off both the Football Stadia Improvement Fund and City of York Council who had assisted by the provision of historical funding which had allowed the Club to contribute significantly to the cost of the building the new LNER Community Stadium.

"The balance after payment of project related costs has been used to pay off a capped element of the capital invested by JM Packaging Ltd (“JMP”)," it said.

"All interest accrued on that capital as well as part of the capital itself being written off by JMP.

"JMP have entered into a funding agreement to ensure generous funds will be made available to the Club for the remainder of the season. JMP are prepared to provide further funding beyond this date if so required and if agreed with the Supporters’ Trust.

"The Club has entered into a written protocol with the Supporters’ Trust to ensure that they work more closely together in the future.

"These parties have also put in place a streamlined procedure which could be utilised should any third-party who is interested in moving the Club forward table a suitable offer. Such an offer would only be accepted if both the Club board and Supporters Trust agree that it is in the best long-term interest of the Club.

James Bradley of Knights plc acted as legal advisor to Bootham Crescent Holdings Limited in relation to the sale. Savills and Aspect4 acted on the price negotiations with Persimmon. The Club was represented by Stephen Baylis of Parisi Solicitors Ltd.

The Club board wishes to thank in particular Ian McAndrew who led the price negotiations for the Club and in particular has delivered the current Heritage aspects of the Bootham Crescent project.

The Supporters Trust said it wanted to thank Jason McGill for his 'enduring commitment' to the club, and said it felt that discussions over recent weeks had gone a long way to resolving misunderstandings on both sides. 

It said the 'transparency, positivity and respect' shown by the football club board, JMP, Jason McGill and their advisors throughout the process has been refreshing.

"We look forward to working with Jason to create a lasting legacy and positive future for the club," it added.