AN announcement on which contractor will build the new Saints stadium is expected some time this month.

Developer Langtree is preparing to confirm which firm has secured the tender for the development at the former United Glass site at Peasley Cross.

Saints chairman Eamonn McManus told the BBC this week that an announcement about the contractor is imminent.

Once the name of builder is made public, clearance and preparatory work on the former glass site are expected to gather pace ahead of the stadium’s construction.

The news should calm anxiety and frustration voiced by some of the rugby league club’s supporters who have been concerned at an apparent silence over the development’s progress in recent months.

The scheme – which key players say will bring massive regeneration benefits to St Helens – also involves construction of a Tesco supermarket.

Last year Langtree invited tender applications for a £24m contract for the stadium, which involved construction, site clearance and remediation, an £18m contract build the supermarket, and £2m contract for infrastructure works.

But protracted negotiations over the tender have ran on through the first half of this year.

A new stadium is crucial for Saints’ long-term financial stability and place in Super League, with clubs facilities having to meet certain criteria to secure ‘franchises’.

The club announced last year that 2010 will be their final season at Knowsley Road’s GPW Recruitment stadium.

It is understood Saints have been in negotiations to use Widnes’s Stobart stadium for ‘home’ games next season until the new stadium is complete.