Redevelopment work on Headingley stadium may finally begin after a funding agreement for the £40m (US$49.8m, €46.6m) work has been agreed.

Plans to improve the adjoining North and South stands for Headingley Cricket Ground and the rugby league stadium have been in the pipeline for some time, but with minimal local authority funding a financial package had been hard to come by.

Now, both Yorkshire County Cricket Club and Leeds Rhinos have struck a deal with a “financial institution” to make the ambition a reality.

Leeds City Council has put forward a £4m (US$5m, €4.7m) grant towards the redevelopment.

There had been concerns that the work would not be finished in time for the ground to host matches from the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

While those fears have not quite been quelled, Yorkshire CCC chief executive Mark Arthur said it was a “significant step in securing the future of international cricket at Headingley.”

“Yorkshire County Cricket Club will continue to work hard to ensure that all remaining funds are in place to ensure that the redevelopment is completed in time for the Cricket World Cup in 2019,” he added.

Leeds Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington said the proposal was a “critical development” for the club, which had spent six years planning it.

Hetherington said that while the funding package may be viewed as a risk from the outside, the “consequences of not doing it [the redevelopment] are more severe”.