The move has been rumoured for some time, with negotiations believed to have been taking place as early as last summer. It was only today though that the Sharks confirmed they will ground-share with Rugby League side Salford City Reds from the 2012/13 season.

Stockport County will become sole tenants at Edgeley Park after nine-years of sharing with the Rugby Union side, with Sale co-owner Ian Blackhurst saying a tenancy agreement is in place with the Hatters.

“Edgeley Park has been a real home from home for us since 2003. However, despite it being a really iconic ground, it continues to fail the Professional Game Board’s Minimum Standards Criteria, resulting in considerable additional expense via fines and upgrade work,” Blackhurst told the Sale Sharks official website.

“Edgeley Park will continue to be a safe and welcoming home ground for Stockport County. They will still be playing their home games there and they now have the opportunity to control all revenue and costs at the ground as it reverts once again to being a venue solely for football. We look forward to assisting them so that their recent resurgence under Jim Gannon can continue.”

Sale have penned a five-year lease initially to play at the City of Salford stadium, although the deal can be extended by a further 20 years should they wish.

In a statement on the official Stockport County website, the club wished the Sharks well, adding their departure can represent a new chapter in the Hatters history.

Part of the statement reads: “This new chapter in Sale Sharks history also potentially represents a great opportunity for Stockport County and it was with this in mind that the club have already been discussing and negotiating with Cheshire Sports over the last few weeks.

“The football club will become responsible for all the running costs of the ground and its maintenance and for this reason the club will need to carefully plan and agree with Cheshire Sports how these costs will be handled in the interim. We are confident that these financial arrangements will be agreed in the coming weeks.

“For Stockport County this move could mean that we are presented with numerous commercial opportunities to generate further income. Areas such as conferencing & banqueting and stand sponsorship are at the top of our list and work began on these areas several weeks ago.”

Sale Sharks last game at Edgeley Park is expected to be against Harlequins on May 5.

- Read the full statement on the official County website here.

- See Sale’s departure from Edgeley Park this morning as it happened through our live blog.

County Blog will be live blogging all the announcement and reaction throughout the morning so get in touch to let us know your thoughts. Tweet us @countyblog, leave a message on our Facebook page or alternatively drop us an email; countyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

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12:47pm: Well I think that just about rounds everything up so it’s time to close this live blog. Sale Sharks have confirmed they are vacating Edgeley Park for the City of Salford stadium next season so today is a good day. Cheers for the company and reaction over the last couple of hours.

12:43pm: Full news article now up on County Blog with quotes from Sale and Stockport County if you fancy a read.

11:53am: Statement from the club now on the official website.

11:50am: Think the press conference at the City of Salford stadium has long since finished, but I’ll leave this live blog open a bit longer incase some more reaction comes through soon.

11:45am: I’d imagine it won’t fully sink in until the start of next season when there isn’t Sale propaganda dotted on every wall around the ground and the pitch remains green beyond winter.

11:41am: We should also point out that while Sale have confirmed they are leaving Edgeley Park, the Rugby Union season has yet to finish so it’ll probably be summer before all traces of their existence at the ground are gone.

11:36am: It might not feel like it seeing as the move was one of the world’s worst kept secrets, but make no mistake about it – today is a massive day for Stockport County. There is still plenty of work to do to repair the damage done at the club over the last few years but hopefully today is another promising sign of things to come.

“Sale have consumed all resources at EP, now off to suck life out of Salford… Good riddance.” – Martin White on Twitter.

11:30am: Pure County have tweeted that they’ll be having a one-on-one interview with Brian Kennedy’s deputy Ian Blackhurst soon.

11:27am: Sale say it was becoming more and more difficult to generate revenue and attract the type of player they want to Edgeley Park. Coach Steve Diamond adds that his side will now not only have first class training facilities, but also a first class stadium to play in.

Ian Blackhurst: Tenancy agreement in place at EP. SCFC supporting the move, they’ll get control back and we’re here to support. – Sale Sharks on Twitter.

11:16am: Does this whole situation and potential new name for Sale Sharks remind anyone of a certain ‘Man-stock County’?

11:12am: ‘Salford Sharks’ was a slip of the tongue apparently. As if they haven’t had enough time to prepare and make sure everything runs smoothly.

“Cllr Merry from Salford Council just refered to ‘Salford Sharks’. A slip of the tongue or a name change, will ask in a mo. – Pure County on Twitter.

11:06am: And there we have it, Sale Sharks confirm they will be moving to the City of Salford stadium from next season.

11:00am: Press conference should be getting under way any-time now.

10:58am: Interesting to hear from that tweet that Sale Sharks owner Brian Kennedy isn’t in attendance.

First bit of news. Kennedy not here, so it’s Sharks co owner Ian Blackhurst we’ll be directing our questions to. Waiting for it all to start. – Pure County on Twitter.

10:54am: Plenty of suggestions that Brian Kennedy could gift Edgeley Park to the Hatters as a gesture of goodwill. While it’d be nice, you don’t become a multi-millionaire by dishing out presents worth several million.

10:50am: Ten minutes till announcement time. Stockport County’s Phil Brennan has just tweeted that he’s in position at the City of Salford stadium for the press conference.

10:48am: It’d also be interesting to hear Stockport Council’s views on this. I wonder if they have any plans to fund a deal to buy the ground?

10:45am: Need more of you to get involved on social networks and give us your thoughts on Sale’s expected departure from Edgeley Park this morning. I can see from the site stats there’s plenty of you reading but not contributing! You can’t let me resort to posting Dave Swanton’s tweets.

10:42am: Us, the fans have got a massive role to play as well. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of work to be done on the stadium over summer, while the cheap £120 season ticket offer needs promoting even more to coincide with this morning’s good news.

10:39am: It’ll be up to the directors, Rob Clare and the rest of the commercial team at County to make sure they explore all the new avenues now open to them to maximise revenue streams and cover the increase in rent and costs from next season.

10:36am: Feel free to add anything I’ve missed or correct me if I’ve got anything wrong, but as I say, I’m sure everything will be revealed soon by the club.

10:34am: - County will be sole tenants at Edgeley Park.

- Rent will already be going up to £200,000 next season regardless of Sale’s departure. County also owe £75,000 of this season’s rent money which was deferred by Brian Kennedy in February.

- As sole tenants County will be in charge of all liabilities and maintenance, something Sale have decided to neglect over the last few years.

- The Hatters will have the run of the stadium, so all ticketing money, corporate and banqueting revenue etc will go to the club. All other buildings will be County’s as well, so we could reclaim the old club shop currently occupied by Sale for example.

10:30am: There have been a lot of fans asking what the implications are for County now that they are set to be sole tenants at Edgeley Park. While I’m sure everything will be cleared up in due course, to the best of my knowledge, here’s what we know for definite so far.

10:26am: Brian Kennedy is certainly a busy man at the moment, along with completing Sale’s move to Salford, he’s also expected to go back in with another bid for Rangers, as reported on County Blog yesterday.

10:23am: Of course, we’ve not forgotten that Brian Kennedy will still own the ground for now, but it wouldn’t be Stockport County if everything was perfect, right?

10:17am: We’re not as fancy as the BBC so we don’t have a text number you see.

10:16am: Enough of the misty-eyed chat for now though. We’ll be bringing you the announcement as it happens along with reaction throughout the morning, so make sure you get in touch and let us know what you think. Tweet us @countyblog, leave a message on our Facebook page or alternatively drop us an email: countyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

10:12am: Today marks a day the vast majority of County fans have wanted for many years – Sale Sharks are set to announce they are vacating Edgeley Park for Salford City Reds’ new City of Salford stadium next season, leaving Stockport County as sole tenants in their home since 1902.

10:08am: Three relegations, eight permanent managers (along with countless other caretakers), a spell in administration, several failed takeover bids and false dawns – they all have one thing in common. All have been suffered by Stockport County during Sale Sharks nine-year association with Edgeley Park.

While of course Sale are not to blame for all of those things, it is not by chance that their time at Edgeley Park has coincided with one of the most turbulent periods in the Hatters history.

The Hatters are tenants to Sale Sharks, and face an uncertain future, with the Sharks looking into a move to Rugby League outfit Salford City Reds’ new Barton stadium.

It is not known whether County would be able to continue using their home since 1902 if Sharks and Edgeley Park owner Brian Kennedy decides to make the move.

“This is Stockport County, we play within the borough and we’re determined to stay within the borough,” Snape told BBC Radio Manchester.

“This is our spiritual home as well as our real home, and we want to continue playing here.”

There has been talk a ground-share with another local club could be a possibility if the Hatters have to relocate from Edgeley Park, but Snape refuted the claims.

“You can’t have Stockport County playing at Salford or Macclesfield,” he said.

When asked if he knew any more about Sale’s plans for next season he added: ”We still don’t know what Sale Sharks’ intentions are at the end of the season, presumably when they’ve sorted it out they’ll tell us. We’ll be here next season, that’s pretty certain.”