Arena Coventry Limited (ACL), the operators of the Ricoh Stadium, have told Sisu, the owners of Coventry City, to pay up or sell up and get out of the city. Coventry City have not paid their rent on the Ricoh Stadium for eleven months and owe a total of £1.29m.
Arena Coventry Limited (ACL), the operators of the Ricoh Stadium, have told Sisu, the owners of Coventry City, to pay up or sell up and get out of the city. Coventry City have not paid their rent on the Ricoh Stadium for eleven months and owe a total of £1.29m.
In January ACL offered to cut the arrears to £1m and reduce the annual rent to £400,000, as well as giving the club a share of match day revenues. Talks resumed after Coventry City Council bought out ACL’s mortgage with Yorkshire Bank but have now collapsed.
Coventry manager Mark Robins has left the club for Huddersfield Town, saying that a factor in his decision was a lack of assurances from Sisu. He also said that the club needed more support from Coventry Council, although they are constrained by substantially reduced funds that have led to enforced cut backs.
ACL would like Coventry City to stay at the stadium as it loses its point without a football club in it, even though there is ample exhibition space. They could apply for a winding up order.
For their part the club have said that they will build another stadium elsewhere, although quite where is unclear. That would take three years and raises the question of where they would play in the meantime. Hinckley United’s ground has been suggested, but that has limited capacity. The former Rushden & Diamonds ground at Nene Park is available, and has hosted League 1 football, but Irthlingborough is a considerable distance from Coventry.
The stadium, into which the Sky Blues moved in 2005, was built with the anticipation that they would retain their Premier League status and is too large for a League 1 club. But to get out of League 1 the club needs stable leadership and more funds.