The football club, who play at Treyew Road, pulled out of the plans after they were advised that the pitch would not be able to sustain both sports.

But Truro owner Kevin Heaney has agreed to sponsor the club as it looks towards the Premiership.

Plans for a new stadium for Cornwall at Three Mile Stone are still in the development stages.

Report: Cornish Pirates' AGM

But Pirates chief executive Rod Coward said he was confident the side will expand over the coming years, despite not having a ground in the county town.

Two years down the track we're confident that we can be playing good professional rugby in Truro Cornish Pirates chief executive Rod Coward

"We are growing our brand, we're growing our support base, and two years down the track we're confident that we can be playing good professional rugby in Truro with a view to becoming a Premiership side playing at a new stadium for Cornwall."

But to become a Premiership side takes money, as well as a new stadium. The club are hoping to attract more investment with Coward looking at the possibility of a share issue.

"Given the intention to achieve Premiership rugby and given the fact the costs of maintaining such a side are probably well in excess of �2m obviously we would be looking at raising something like �500,000 to �1m in the first offering," he said.

606: DEBATE What do you think of the groundshare falling through?

The Pirates have been in turmoil at the top since the start of the year after president Dickie Evans and manager Adrian Edwards announced they would quit the club.

In the meantime the club has opened negotiations with Camborne Rugby Club to continue to use their stadium for the next two years.