Coventry City Council leader John Mutton has made it clear that there are a number of ‘show stoppers’ in the way of a deal to allow Coventry City to buy a half share in the Ricoh stadium.
Coventry City Council leader John Mutton has made it clear that there are a number of ‘show stoppers’ in the way of a deal to allow Coventry City to buy a half share in the Ricoh stadium. Given the past conduct of club owners Sisu, the City Council are understandably wary of them, although when we interviewed the council leader on BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on election night he did say they had been ‘more honest’ in their most recent meeting.
It does seem that Sisu are making more of an effort to find solutions, if only because they face ever spiralling losses. For the City Council a key objective is job creation given that the purpose of building the Ricoh in the first place was to help to regenerate North Coventry. They are therefore very interested in the development of surrounding land and in particular hotel projects. Hotels are relatively labour intensive and provide jobs, albeit not very well paid ones.
The Higgs Trust, which has a half share in the Ricoh Arena, alongside the City Council, have made it clear that they want out. The charity bought Coventry Cityt’s half share in the stadium following their relegation from the Premier League in 2001, four years before the Sky Blues left Highfield Road.
Higgs spokesman Peter Knatchbull-Huggeson told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire, ‘What we wanted was to get the thing moving, get it built and start the regeneration. But we’re not a long-term investor. We’ve got other projects we’d like to develop in Coventry.’ A process of due diligence will now start and last around a month.
Knatchball-Huggeson continued: ‘How could I describe the management of the football club? I think best not to because of the laws of libel and so on … I think it’s clear that they have acknowledged that they have failed over the first few years of their ownership. I think they’ve had a very cold shower and begun to understand that they need to run it more sensibly. And I think the people they have got now are the most sensible people I’ve seen at the football club in the last 20 years.’
As tenants Coventry City do not make any money from matchday food and drink sales, or the lucrative concerts and concerts held at the Ricoh. The stadium is also staging preliminary Olympic Games football matches for teams of men and women.