Coventry City owner will drop legal action if council backs new stadium plans
The owners of Coventry City FC have broken their silence on long-running issues concerning the club’s home stadium, saying they will end legal action over the sale of the Ricoh Arena if they get support to build a new home in the city.
In a statement, Sisu said it is also seeking a medium term interim arrangement with Wasps on “commercially acceptable terms” to stay at the Ricoh Arena until the club’s own stadium is complete.
Coventry City’s tenancy at the Ricoh Arena runs out this summer, and the club’s owners are locked in a legal battle about the sale of the Ricoh Arena to Premiership rugby union club Wasps in 2014. Wasps has consistently said it will not extend Coventry City’s tenancy if legal action is ongoing.
The Sky Blues are now facing expulsion from League One if they don’t have anywhere to play their home games next season. The EFL have called an Extraordinary General Meeting of all clubs to discuss this on April 25th.
Sisu say they “typically do not make press comments” but that they are “breaking with that tradition, because we think it essential that we explain to the fans the status of Coventry City Football Club.
In an open letter, the first time the club’s owners have spoken out on the dispute since 2016, Sisu asked for:
a stadium development supported by the Council in Coventry with enabling development on reasonable terms, and
a medium term interim arrangement with Wasps on commercially acceptable terms to stay at the Ricoh Arena until CCFC’s own stadium is complete.
“So far, neither of these things have materialised which means that SISU has no option but to continue with its challenge,” it said.
In a background document accompanying the letter, Sisu said it “has invested considerable time and money in exploring the construction of a new stadium” and that “real estate advisors have been and continue to be engaged to source land for such a development”.
It said: “Sisu is still hopeful that the council will work with Sisu to progress the development of a new stadium.”
Coventry first moved to the Ricoh Arena in 2005 after selling their former home at Highfield Road. They then returned to the Ricoh Arena in 2014 after just over a year ground-sharing 33 miles away with Northampton Town.
But they have been told by the EFL that they must play their home games within six miles of the city centre.
The legal case involving City’s owners Sisu is based on their claim that Coventry City Council undervalued the Ricoh Arena by £27m when the ground was sold to Wasps.
