Coventry City have missed their own eight week target to conclude a deal on a new stadium site and say that they will need another four weeks to pursue a deal on the Brandon speedway site. However, it is evident that there are multiple difficulties associated with this location.
Coventry City have missed their own eight week target to conclude a deal on a new stadium site and say that they will need another four weeks to pursue a deal on the Brandon speedway site. However, it is evident that there are multiple difficulties associated with this location.
It is apparent that there is increasing interest in a site near the University of Warwick. As I noted in an earlier post, I doubted whether this would be on the University’s own land, Much of this land is tenanted for farming and is held as a reserve for possible long-term expansion.
It now appears, however, that the club may be interested in land at Westwood Heath owned by Coventry University. This is already used for sporting purposes, but building a stadium there would raise serious planning issues. The roads nearby are narrow and congested and this would pose problems particularly for midweek evening games.
I understand that there is a purpose built football stadium available in North Coventry which could be used. The operators of the Ricoh Arena have made it clear that they would be able to offer a reduced rent deal and the vexed issue of matchday revenues could surely be resolved by negotitaion. The determination of Coventry City’s owners to build a new stadium looks like obdurate petulance, but no one can deflect from their course of action.