In a recently issued statement on the club website, Coventry City FC have confirmed that they are leaving the Ricoh Arena for an unknown destination.
In a recently issued statement on the club website, Coventry City FC have confirmed that they are leaving the Ricoh Arena for an unknown destination.
The club said, ‘We are currently in contact with the Football League and discussing a suitable venue for our next game. We realise how testing these times are for supporters and we appreciate everyone’s understandable concern. We are seeking to resolve these issues as soon as possible and will keep everyone informed of developments.’
The statement implies that a new home has not been finalised, although the smart money has been on Walsall. Other venues discussed at an early stage were Hinckley United, which is reasonably close but might be regarded by the Football League as not suitable for a League 1 club. Nene Park, Irthlingborough, is currently vacant and has staged League 1 games, but is a long way from Coventry.
Walsall is 30 miles away up an often crowded M6. Irthlingborough is the other way along the M6 and A14. I occasionally went to see games there and would say it is about an hour’s driving time from Coventry if there are no delays.
A complicating factor as far as Walsall is concerned is that Football League rules state that it ‘will not (generally) approve any (move) … outside the conurbation from which the club takes its name’. This raises an interesting issue about whether Coventry is part of the West Midlands conurbation. It did, of course, form part of the former West Midlands county, but this was not popular in Coventry which sees itself as distinct from Birmingham.
However, it is the word ‘generally’ in the rules that it is important. Brighton were, for example, allowed to play at Gillingham when they lost their ground, although that was not of their own volition.
Coventry are also reported as stating that they would like to stay at the Ricoh subject to a reasonable commercial deal so in a sense all the drama of packing up could be seen as a way of putting pressure on Arena Coventry Limited.
Coventry City are unlikely to escape a points deduction for entering administration. In 2004 Southampton attempted to delay sanctions by just putting their parent holding company into administration. However, an investigation by the Football League found that the club and the holding company were ‘inextricably linked as one economic entity’ and applied their mandatory penalty.