When I said that Coventry might end up playing in Northamptonshire, I was thinking of the vacant Rushden & Diamonds stadium at Nene Park, not the Sixfields stadium of Northampton Town. It didn’t make my short list, nor many of the others I have seen. It is nearer to Coventry than Nene Park but the Sky Blues won’t have exclusive use of the 7,600-capacity stadium.
When I said that Coventry might end up playing in Northamptonshire, I was thinking of the vacant Rushden & Diamonds stadium at Nene Park, not the Sixfields stadium of Northampton Town. It didn’t make my short list, nor many of the others I have seen. It is nearer to Coventry than Nene Park but the Sky Blues won’t have exclusive use of the 7,600-capacity stadium.
The bigger issue is how a club called ‘Coventry City’ has ended up playing there. It really is a load of Cobblers. One can’t expect the Football League to intervene, indeed without a ground share the first match against Bristol City might not go ahead.
Apparently the Sky Blues are set to be selected as the preferred buyer for a site in ‘the Coventry area’ to build a new stadium – and to enter exclusive negotiations over a sale. It coincides with a sales process for the Coventry Bees speedway stadium site at Brandon.
Coventry City Football Club Limited’s administrator Paul Appleton has now issued his confidential proposals for creditors to sign a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) that would bring the club out of administration, preventing liquidation.
It is not yet known if creditor Arena Coventry Limited – the part-Coventry City Council-owned Ricoh stadium firm owed rent arrears by the Sky Blues – will try to block the CVA and prolong administration.
However, there is good news for Cobblers fans apart from the revenue from the ground share. Northampton Council have found £12m to loan to the club to refurbish the stadium and expand capacity to 10,000.