CHESTER City's derby with Wrexham will go ahead at the Saunders Honda Stadium after the Football League last night refused a request for it to be moved to Widnes.
Chester City chairman Stephen Vaughan wanted to play the December 28 match at Halton Stadium, home of Widnes Vikings, after this week striking a deal to invest in the rugby league club.
But a Football League spokesman said they had regarded the request as 'highly speculative' and felt it was 'not appropriate from a competition point of view'.
They also revealed Chester had been unable to inform them if the Halton Stadium - once the home of Runcorn FC Halton - was licensed for senior football.
City's highly-anticipated meeting with fierce local rivals Wrexham was last month controversially switched from a 7.45pm kick-off to noon on the advice of the Safety Advisory Committee, which is made up of police, councillors and League officials.
The decision to bring the kick-off forward meant many fans would miss the game because December 28 is not a national holiday.
Vaughan hoped to resolve the problem by arranging a late switch to Widnes, only for the Football League to turn down his request.
A League spokesman said: 'Our view is that we do not believe it is practical and certainly not appropriate from a competition point of view.
'There were a whole range of issues, including the fact the same police force would have been involved if the match was played at Widnes.'
Vaughan, however, has not ruled out the possibility of playing home games at Widnes in the future.
The Blues supremo has long been in dispute with Chester City Council regarding the lease agreement on the Bumpers Lane stadium, the terms of which he says are 'pathetic'.
Now, having been elected on to the Vikings' board as part of a deal which will eventually see him take over the chairmanship from Tony Chambers, Vaughan is ready to consider relocating.
'It's quite straightforward,' he said. 'If the council don't want to appreciate and help us, if they want to ignore us, let's look elsewhere.
'There's not enough money being generated and that will not alter until that lease is revamped or the council take it back and just charge us a rent per game. We don't want any offices in there - we don't want anything from them.
'All we want is a playing surface that we can rent.'
He added: 'I don't want our support base to turn on me. I'm doing what I think is best for them.
'I'm not threatening to move our football club anywhere, but I certainly won't put much defence up if they (the council) force me.'
The council insist they are prepared to discuss the club's lease but are continuing court action to recover rent owed to them by the club.
A council spokesman said: 'The council has always supported Chester City Football Club under all its owners but we have an obligation to recover unpaid rent.'
'We are always prepared to talk to the club about other issues.'
Barrie Hipkiss - chairman of Chester's official supporters' club - has expressed his fears over the club's possible move to Widnes, which is 17 miles from Chester.
'I can understand fully the problems Stephen Vaughan has got, but I do not think a lot of supporters would be prepared to travel to Widnes,' he said. 'We would lose the identity of the club.'
