Rugby union side Sale Sharks have announced plans to "return to our hometown" after almost two decades.

The Premiership club said they intended to move to the new Crossford Bridge Community Sports Village in Sale after plans for it were unveiled.

The side left Heywood Road in Sale for Stockport's Edgeley Park in 2003 before moving to Salford's AJ Bell Stadium.

Director of rugby Steve Diamond said it was "a chance to establish a long-term home".

He added that the Sharks, who lay second in the Premiership when the sport was halted by the coronavirus lockdown in March, had "always had a vision to return to our hometown, bringing the club closer to its original fanbase and the communities in Sale".

'Extremely excited'

The proposed stadium would be built on the Crossford Bridge playing fields, which sit alongside the M60 between the River Mersey and the Bridgewater Canal on the edge of the town.

Diamond said there was "not only a chance to establish a long-term home for the club, but there's also a real opportunity for our men's and women's teams to inspire the next generation of sporting talent".

"Everyone at Sale Sharks is extremely excited about what this could mean for the club's future," he added.

Developers Crossford Futures said it was "consulting closely" with the community clubs that currently use the playing fields, Trafford Council and Manchester and Cheshire FAs over the plans, with a first phase of consultation beginning on 22 June.

The firm's director Graham Young said the final proposals for the site "will be shaped hand-in-hand with the local community ahead of submitting a possible planning application later this year".

"We hope that the vision for Crossford Bridge can help to bring communities in Sale and the surrounding area back together when it is safe to do so, whether that is through sport, activity or something entirely different."

Trafford Council leader Andrew Western said it was a "potentially very exciting opportunity" but "no firm decisions have been made".

Sale Sharks came into being in 1999 as the professional successors of amateur side Sale FC, a club which was founded in 1861, and is one of the oldest in England.

The club have shared the AJ Bell, which lies about five miles north of their original home, with rugby league side Salford City Reds for the last eight years.

The amateur side still play at Heywood Road and are in National League One, two divisions below the Sharks.