Saints will play ALL of next season's home games outside of St Helens after bidding a fond farewell to historic Knowsley Road.
Club chiefs have successfully negotiated the complex agreements that will see the club's new £20m stadium dream become a reality – but fans will have to travel outside the borough for all home games during 2011.
Bosses had previously suggested tha
t Saints would only spend part of next season "on the road".
All home games throughout 2011 will be played at the Widnes Vikings' Stobart Stadium, although there is scope for the Saints-Wigan derby to be switched to either Anfield or Goodison Park.
Work on the new 18,500-capacity arena is set to start on the former United Glass site in the next couple of weeks.
Fittingly, the stadium roof has been designed in the shape of a halo.
Saints chairman Eamonn McManus hailed the announcement as "the best news in the history of the club and the town".
He said: "Without blowing our own trumpet, we have been able to deliver the kind of stadium our fans deserve – and have done so against a difficult financial background.
"It will give a major boost to the local economy at a time when positive economic news is as common as chicken teeth.
"At the same time it will enable us to continue bringing in the best players and, with the development of our proposed new training facilities at Cowley, will guarantee Saints will be in a position to compete successfully on the sporting field for many decades to come."
Mr McManus also said that the "death rattle" had been reached at Knowsley Road and that keeping the age-old stadium open was no longer viable because of health and safety costs.
He added: "The sale of Knowsley Road is a key facet in the move to a new stadium and it a question of necessity rather than choice. But people will realise that temporarily re-locating to Widnes is a small price to pay in the long-term."
Responsibility for building the new Saints stadium has been entrusted to Barr Construction, a contractor selected following an open tender process last summer.
It is estimated that the rubber-stamped regeneration of the entire former United Glass site will create 1,400 jobs.
The massive regeneration project will also include a 140,000 sq ft Tesco Extra store, which forms part of the stadium construction contract, and new pedestrian links into St Helens town centre.
An exhibition of the new stadium plans will be on display on weekdays in the Touchlines Club at the GPW Recruitment Stadium until next Friday (July 30), between midday and 7.30pm.
The plans will also be on show at the Church Square shopping centre between noon and 4pm this Saturday (July 24).
St Helens Council leader Marie Rimmer said the news was "a historic landmark in the history of the borough".
Coun Rimmer said: "This announcement is tremendous news. Finally we will be able to see the stadium take shape offering fitting facilities for our world-class club."
