The Oxford United owners' attempts to buy the Kassam Stadium look to have reached an impasse because of the ever-worsening economic crisis.

It's understood that United were close in the summer to completing a deal, after a £13m asking price was agreed.

But raising the finance has proved "more difficult", according to a source involved in the negotiations.

And what has been nicknamed "Meltdown Monday", when the world stock markets plunged at the start of this week as United States banking giants collapsed, has only made the situation worse.

United chairman Nick Merry (pictured) said: "We've got close to a few things, but the asking price keeps making it very difficult."

Not owning their own ground has led to financial problems for United.

Their only real source of income comes from ticket sales, with all the matchday ground advertising and catering money going to the stadium company.

It's felt that buying the stadium is the only way for the football club to move forward, but when potential investors have done a detailed inspection of the stadium, which is now over seven years old, they have found the £13m price-tag unrealistic.

The credit crunch, with some investment banks getting into deep trouble and warnings of the worst financial conditions since 1929, has furthered scuppered United's plans.

Merry said: "Talks are still going on, but the economic situation is not getting any easier and what happened on Monday has made it even harder.

"But we're diligently working at it every day to try to make sense of it all and to try to make it happen – that's what we do."

Oxford United's own financial position has not been helped either with stadium owner Firoz Kassam putting up the rent considerably in recent months.

He has "cost of living" increase allowance clauses in the rental agreement with the U's and has activated these as the inflation and interest rates have risen.

But while their rent has gone up considerably, the club's income has decreased.

The U's dropped season ticket prices for this season, for those season-ticket holders who were renewing, while home gates are ten per cent down, from an average of 4,728 in 2007-8 to a current average of 4,332 this season.

Merry did not want to go into details about the stadium rent, but conceded: "It's not going down.

"There are cost of living allowances set out throughout the agreement, and yes, it doesn't help."