Tony Colquitt also believes that the team would consider moving their home games to areas in Halton and Knowsley if their plans were halted, echoing comments made by coach Daniel Anderson earlier this year.

Mr Colquitt, who has been chief executive for 12 months, said: "The consequences of this club not being granted planning permission would be severe, and frankly and I do not want to think about them.

"If the worst was to happen we would not be able to continue as a top flight Super League team.

"I have yet to hear anybody give me a valid reason why this development should not go ahead.

"We all agree that it would be impossible for us to continue as one of the most respected sides in the sport at this ground in the future.

"Applications for a three year Super League licence are being assessed on stadium facilities, as well as player development.

"In the future this criteria will be more demanding and we must be prepared for that.

"We remain very hopeful that our application will get passed."

Plans for the 18,000-capacity stadium will be heard in six days time on May 20 when the planning committee decide on the club's application.

Saints propose to transform a derelict brownfield site to create the ground. Other developments would include a 140,000 sq ft Tesco Extra.
The existing town centre Tesco store would be redeveloped for retail use.

Saints Knowsley Road ground, recently renamed The GPW Recruitment Stadium, will be developed into a new housing complex.

The club stress that all of these schemes are linked, and if any single element were to fail then the entire project would collapse. The club hope that these developments will create thousands of new jobs and pump millions of pounds into the local economy.

However, even if St Helens Council approves the scheme then the plans are expected to be called in by Whitehall chiefs for considerable because of the sheer size of the project.

Mr Colquitt, 48, believes they will deliver the kind of positive impact that St Helens has not seen for many decades.

He said: "Having lived in this area all my life I can tell you that St Helens has seen 30 years of economic decline.

"These proposals set bold standards for leisure and retail provision, and that is why the council and local MPs are supporting our plans.

"They will truly kick start St Helens into the 21st century."

* The planning meeting is scheduled to start at 5.30pm next Tuesday (May 20) and the commitee's decision will be immediately posted online at www.sthelensreporter.co.uk