Coventry City handed lifeline as talks open on new stadium deal
An extraordinary general meeting to discuss Coventry City’s future has been postponed, with the club announcing it is in “initial discussions” with Wasps over extending its stay at the Ricoh Arena.
The meeting and the vote on the club’s place in the EFL, previously scheduled for April 25, has now been postponed following the club making “significant progress” in working to meet the EFL stadium criteria for next season.
The club said: “We can confirm that Coventry City Football Club has started initial discussions with Wasps Holdings Limited regarding an extension to our current license agreement to play at the Ricoh Arena.
“We have worked closely with Shaun Harvey and the EFL over a long period of time on this matter, and are grateful to the EFL board for giving us the extra time needed to bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion, which would see Coventry City continue to play its fixtures in Coventry.”
City also confirmed that a head of terms agreement has been signed to groundshare at an alternative venue.
It said: “However, the timescales involved with this option means that a deal with Wasps will need to be concluded very quickly, otherwise our option with the alternative venue will be lost.
“We are unable to comment further at this time due to a mutually-signed confidentiality agreements, but will keep supporters updated when we are able to do so.”
The club added that it wants to “conclude this matter as soon as possible”, with the continued aim of Coventry City playing at the Ricoh Arena.
Last week, the League One side lost its appeal over the ownership of Ricoh Stadium.
Sky Blue Sports & Leisure Ltd, owned by Sisu, were attempting to prevent the sale of the stadium to the rugby club Wasps by Coventry City Council.
They had wanted permission from the Supreme Court to reverse the 2014 decision not to allow a judicial review of the sale.
They said that Coventry City Council had undervalued the Ricoh Stadium by £28m when it was sold to Wasps.
