Ricoh rent row plunges Coventry City into crisis
FOOTBALL club Coventry City is facing an uncertain future over the payment of rent to its landlord at the Ricoh Arena.
Discussions between the two parties have tried to conclude an amicable settlement but the debt, currently thought to be around £1m, is a major stumbling block to progress.
Arena owner Arena Coventry Ltd has given the Sky Blues a deadline of Boxing Day to reach a settlement or it could issue a winding up petition.
The League One club has said the rent, thought to be around £100,000, is too high for a club in its position and is trying to negotiate a cheaper rate.
The club has said it wants to conduct the negotiations in as professional a manner as possible and has declined to comment on the progress.
The Sky Blues believe that the £1.28m a year it is currently being asked to pay is the highest for a club outside the Premier League. Even if the club was able to fill the arena for every fixture it would still struggle.
But due to its relegation from the Championship last season its home attendances have declined from around 15,000 to 10,500 leaving it in a precarious position.
The club was taken to the High Court in Birmingham earlier this year after it halted payments of £100,000 a month to ACL. The court ruled the club should top up a deposit fund to cover ACL’s unpaid invoices.
Should the situation deteriorate to the point where the club is evicted from the ground then reports have suggested it could opt for a bizarre plan to play at the 6,500-capacity Nene Park, home of the now disbanded Rushden & Diamonds and latterly Kettering Town. Such a move could leave Coventry fans facing the prospect of a 90-mile round trip for ‘home’ games.
The Sky Blues fans have pressured the club’s board to resume talks with ACL after a reported offer by the Arena owner to charge the club £400,000 a year in rent plus concessions on food/drink and car parking as well as a 10-year period to pay off the £1m in back rent was rejected.
