Deal delays Coventry City’s departure from Ricoh Arena

Coventry City will definitely play next season’s matches at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry after agreeing a deal with stadium owners Wasps.

However the League Two football club has been warned there will be no further extension unless a legal dispute is resolved.

Wasps chief executive Nick Eastwood said: “This is certainly not a commercially-driven decision, and there are plenty of financial and other arguments for us not continuing with any agreement, but we do not wish to see the football club disadvantaged.”

The one-year extension was facilitated by the English Football League, with the two sporting organisations currently on opposite sides of the table of protracted legal action.

The dispute between Coventry City FC and Coventry City Council, the former owners of the stadium, started in 2012 with a dispute over the rent. There are other allegations about state aid being provided by the Council to the operating company of the stadium and also to Wasps. Mediation is due to conclude next month.

Coventry City wants to play in its own stadium but progress has been slow, not helped by the poor on-field performances.

The rugby union club bought the stadium in 2014, after Coventry City had spent a season playing its home games in Northampton.

Since then there has been uncertainty about where the football club’s long-term home will be, with this one-year deal doing little to positively answer that question.

The club were relegated last season and are currently ninth in League Two, albeit just six points outside of the automatic promotion places with 15 games remaining.

Coventry City’s chief executive Dave Boddy said: “This agreement gives supporters the certainty of where they will be watching their team play next season and provides stability to the club.”