Truro City: Cornish Pirates take over National League South club

Dicky Evans (left) from the Cornish Pirates and former Truro chairman Peter Masters agreed to share the Stadium for Cornwall in 2017

Championship rugby union club Cornish Pirates have bought National League South football side Truro City.

Truro owners Peter Masters and Phillip Perryman agreed a sale last month and the plan still requires approval from the National League and FA.

It means both teams aiming to play in the planned new Stadium for Cornwall will have the same owners.

Truro will carry on playing at Treyew Road for the foreseeable future, having played in Torquay earlier this season.

The two teams will continue to operate as separate entities with individual boards and management teams.

Construction of the planned Stadium for Cornwall, which would be home to both teams, is yet to start despite planning permission being granted in July 2015.

Takeover 'secures the future of professional sport in Cornwall'

The Stadium for Cornwall will house at least 10,000 supporters and be able to host Premiership rugby

The project is awaiting £3m of central government money, which will match the contribution from Cornwall Council, and it is hoped work will begin in the next couple of months.

"As we worked through the Stadium for Cornwall business plan it became apparent that this was an obvious move for us," Pirates major shareholder and long-time benefactor Dicky Evans said in a statement.

"This purchase secures the future of professional sport in Cornwall. We have said throughout that the Stadium for Cornwall is for all sport and not just rugby and this news confirms that position.

"We all share a passion to bring professional sport of the highest level to Cornwall and to create pathways for young people to achieve their dreams of playing professional sport in the county.

"I want to ensure staff, players and the fans of Truro City Football Club that we will be continuing growth at the club and ensuring it can play at the highest level possible."