Tonight I shall be heading to the Ricoh Stadium in Coventry to help BBC Coventry and Warwickshire with their election coverage. I shall spare a thought for Sky Blues fans and they will be cheered by the fact that there is some good news about their tenancy of the stadium. Some have suggested that the local elections provide a backcloth to these developments
Tonight I shall be heading to the Ricoh Stadium in Coventry to help BBC Coventry and Warwickshire with their election coverage. I shall spare a thought for Sky Blues fans and they will be cheered by the fact that there is some good news about their tenancy of the stadium. Some have suggested that the local elections provide a backcloth to these developments
Relegation to League 1 will lead to a big fall in their income with the loss of £1.2m in Football League sponsorship money and the club is already cash strapped. They can’t afford to continue to pay the existing rent of £1.2m a year for the stadium which is jointly owned by Coventry City Council and a local charitable trust. This is way above any rents paid by other League 1 clubs.
The club has withheld its rent for the past two months and that may have helped to concentrate minds. However, talks have now taken place with the city council and reports suggest that good progress has been made towards finding a solution. The talks involved owners Sisu, the leader of the city council, the deputy leader and chief executive.
As a Charlton fan, I have to say that League 1 is a hard league to get out of. I know they all are, but what is distinctive about League 1 is that you have two types of clubs that make it difficult. First, there are the clubs who have hit hard times and are used to playing at a higher level. They are desperate to get back, but often lack the resources needed for a successful promotion bid.
Then there are the clubs for whom the realistic ambition is to stay in League 1. Some of them are involved in an annual struggle to avoid relegation to League 2. That often dour struggle is enlivened (and valuable bonus points gained) by taking a ‘scalp’ off a ‘big’ club, i.e. one that has been in the top flight like the Sky Blues. Get these teams in a decent stadium and they often play well above their level.
Getting the rent issue sorted out would be the first step towards the way back.