Cornwall Rugby league owners take over Truro City as club announces return home
Truro City football club have confirmed they will return to play in the Duchy next season after three years of playing in Plymouth.
The club also has new owners after being taken over by the Canadian company that already runs Cornwall's Rugby League team.
It means long-term benefactor Dicky Evans has relinquished control of the football club - and he's also now set to sell Cornish Pirates rugby union side to new owners too.
Mr Evans said: “I’m sad to lose TCFC, it’s been a pleasure to support their ambitions, see them promoted, and have started to build their new home in Truro. We pass on a great club with a bright future and I wish them well with their new owners."
Truro City will move to the long-hoped-for site at Langarth Village this summer where they will initially have to use temporary stands. However, a new stadium on the site is planned.
The new owners are called Ontario Inc and they already own Cornwall Rugby League FC.
They say they are committed to building a new stadium and hope being back in the Duchy enables more fans to watch their team live and generate more revenue for the club.
The Directors of Ontario Inc said: “We are delighted to complete the takeover of Truro City Football Club.
"The club stands on the cusp of a new dawn and we are honoured to be leading Truro City into what promises to be another history-laden chapter in its long and distinguished history.
"We must place on record our thanks to Dicky Evans and the previous ownership for the work they have done in ensuring the club's survival through the turbulence of the Covid-19 pandemic and for steering it throughout its time in exile these past few seasons."
Dicky Evans had a long-term ambition to move Pirates into a new stadium in Truro called Stadium for Cornwall and in the process secure a place in rugby's Premiership.
But the stadium plans faltered so Pirates will remain at their spiritual home - The Mennaye Field - in Penzance.
Speaking about Cornish Pirates, Mr Evans said: “It is a sadness for Pirates to have to give up their ambition for a permanent home in Truro but the bigger reality of my declining health and sunset funding means that sensible governance decisions needed to be made to secure the future of both clubs.
"With TCFC in good hands, I am now totally focussed on passing on the Pirates baton to new rugby owners. Cornish Pirates will remain in Penzance, their home and heartland. We may have lost the Stadium, but we have gained control of our own destiny.”
Pirates Chairman Paul Durkin is clear about the positive future for Cornish Pirates. He said: “In the face of all the publicity about failing rugby clubs and the total lack of clarity from the RFU on the rugby structure and more importantly on funding going forward, I am proud to say that Pirates is financially secure and will continue to compete within the top 20 of English rugby.
“The club is an essential part of the fabric of Cornwall with a loyal fan base and widespread commercial and community support. As a safe bet, we are as good as it gets.”