THE future of Feethams lies in the hands of a firm of chartered surveyors.

Later this month, or perhaps in early March, the firm will deliver a report to Darlington Cricket Club, the landlord of the ground that was home to the Quakers for 150 years, giving advice on what should happen to the former stadium.

The cricket club, which sublets the ground from Darlington Feethams Cricket Field Trust, does not want or need the land itself.

Naturally, it wants to make the most of what could be a very valuable asset.

Feethams is dilapidated, but it is in a prime town centre location and a number of housing developers have already expressed an interest in buying it.

David Hodgson, manager of Darlington FC, is also interested in the ground. He hopes to persuade the cricket club to grant him a ten-year lease to open a five-a-side football academy there.

But Mr Hodgson only wants the lease if he can also buy the main East Stand, built at a cost of £3m in 1998.

Both the cricket club and Wilson Field, the court-appointed administrator to Darlington Football Club, believe they own the stand.

Lawyers have yet to decide who actually does.

In the meantime, the cricket club committee will be asked to consider all options for Feethams.

Brian Johnson, cricket club chairman and a member of the field trust's management board, told The Northern Echo: "We have instructed a firm of chartered surveyors to advise and guide us as to what they see as the best way forward to marketing the ground.

"At the moment, all options are still open."

He stressed that if the club, a non-profit making organisation, does decide to sell the ground, any proceeds would be ploughed into youth sport in Darlington.

Mr Hodgson is pessimistic about his chances of leasing the ground.

"What does advice mean?" he said. "I'm led to believe that it means planning permission. That would be the more lucrative route.

"But my interest is still there. If they are going down the route of looking at alternatives, they have got the option to link up with myself on a sporting facility."

A vision of decline at the abandoned Tin Shed

FOR the middle of May, it was a thoroughly miserable night; the incessant driving rain doing its best to ruin one of the finest moments in Darlington FC's history.

But for thousands of home supporters, it was arguably the last great, momentous occasion witnessed at Feethams.

It was May 17, 2000, and the Quakers were on the brink of defeating arch-rivals Hartlepool United 1-0 to seal a place in the Third Division play-off final.

That night, Feethams was at its raucous best. Fans crammed into the Tin Shed, orchestrating the booming victory chants.

Yesterday, though, as The Northern Echo looked around the stadium, the scene could not be more different.

The Tin Shed has gone to rack and ruin, and the terraces are wrecked, the stone crumbling underfoot.

Weeds sprout from the lumpy, overgrown turf on the pitch, now littered with empty drink cans. Parts of advertising boards are also scattered around the ground.

In the background towers the £3m East Stand. Once the big money-making centre of Feethams on a match-day, it is now in a pitiful state.

Mould covers virtually the entire carpet in the grim, dark Ambassador Suite, while the ceiling is full of holes.

Several bottles of lager remain untouched on the bar, next to a programme from Darlington's Worthington Cup clash with Sheffield United in August 2001.

The executive boxes above are empty, loose wires protrude from every corner, while smashed glasses and dead insects line the corridor outside.

In recent years, the adjacent West Stand had not been the prettiest of sights anyway. Now, it looks beyond hope.

Gaping holes pepper the steps leading to the seats, the small terraced section below covered in old ticket stubs Darlington v Torquay, December 28, 2002; Darlington v Halifax, April 1, 2002; Darlington v Hartlepool, March 1, 2003....

The South Terrace is little better. Broken pieces of advertising boards adorn a sodden, dilapidated structure.

There will have been many among the 5,750 present at Feethams' last ever league match in May 2003 who hoped the old venue would enjoy a prosperous future following the Quakers' departure.

Today, such a hope still exists. But whether it eventually becomes a reality remains uncertain.