Coventry City Council have agreed a multi million pound bail out of the Ricoh Stadium where Coventry City are in dispute with the operating company ACL over the amount of rent they pay. Although the City Council have been facing major financial challenges, they have always seen the stadium as a key element in their regeneration plans for North Coventry.
Coventry City Council have agreed a multi million pound bail out of the Ricoh Stadium where Coventry City are in dispute with the operating company ACL over the amount of rent they pay. Although the City Council have been facing major financial challenges, they have always seen the stadium as a key element in their regeneration plans for North Coventry.
The bailout is targeted at the problems of ACL where there was a risk that Yorkshire Bank could have called in their £21m mortage. ACL might have gone into administration and then Coventry City’s owners, hedge fund Sisu, might have been able to buy the stadium at a knockdown price.
This decision is not directly related to the dispute with the Sky Blues, although the failure of the club to pay their rent has put ACL in a difficult financial position. It may, however, open the way for a resolution of the rent dispute.