Ricoh proves boon to Coventry economy

COVENTRY’S economy has undergone a massive boost in the five years since the opening of the Ricoh Arena, management at the venue has claimed.

The award-winning £113m arena celebrates its fifth anniversary on Friday (August 20) and during that time more than seven million people have attended the venue.

Since Coventry City’s 3-0 win over Queens Park Rangers on August 20, 2005, there have been 2,421,360 football supporters attend competitive Sky Blues matches at the stadium.

The Ricoh’s versatility is highlighted by other milestone figures. Around 334,000 spectators have watched concerts in the stadium bowl ranging from Take That to Bon Jovi while over the last five years, there have been 5,465 conferences and 202 exhibitions held in its wide range of suites and exhibition halls.

Daniel Gidney, chief executive of the Ricoh Arena, said the Ricoh had become a massive national success story as well as having developed its international pedigree.

“The decision to build the Ricoh Arena was one of the best that has been taken in recent years in this area,” he said.

“The huge numbers of people that have visited the venue is testament to the high standard of our facilities and our flexibility since we have attracted international sporting matches, world-class musicians, blue-chip companies and trade exhibitions who otherwise wouldn’t have visited here.

“This has had a positive knock-on effect to the local economy not only in terms of the jobs we have created but for other industries such as local hoteliers and transport providers.”

In addition, he said there was no doubting that the arena had taken the standard of sporting, conference, exhibition and entertainment facilities to a new level within the Midlands.

“Our key sporting highlights are hosting two England under-21 internationals, an England under-19 match, three Heineken Cup (rugby) matches including the 2008 semi-final which boosted the local economy by £6m and Coventry City’s sell-out FA Cup quarter-final against Chelsea.

“We were also proud to bring Take That to the Midlands which attracted 114,000 fans last summer, when we also held one of the last Oasis gigs,” added Mr Gidney.

The venue’s management team is now trying to raise even further the arena’s profile, from staging large scale sporting events through to conferencing and exhibitions.

“The level of investment we have made this year underlines our commitment to continue extending our ethos of providing a world class destination for entertainment, sport and business,” said Mr Gidney.

Highlights ahead include the London 2012 Olympic football matches and 2015 Rugby World Cup pool games.

“We are thrilled to be playing our part in staging two of the world’s three largest sporting occasions,” he said.

“The impact to the regional economy will be significant and on the eve of our fifth birthday there is certainly plenty to look forward to over the coming months and years.”