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Coventry City hold talks with Hinckley over stadium move

Coventry City have held provisional talks with Hinckley United over playing at the Blue Square Bet North side's Greene King Stadium.

Coventry are looking at other grounds as they discuss a £1.1m bill in rent arrears with Arena Coventry Limited (ACL), the owners of the Ricoh Arena.

And Hinckley told BBC Radio Leicester they discussed a potential share with the Sky Blues.

The Greene King Stadium can hold 4,329 fans, 29,280 less than the Ricoh Arena.

ACL have issued League One Coventry with a Boxing Day deadline to pay the claimed amount of rent, or face a winding-up petition.

However, the Sky Blues believe that the rent is too high in relation to other clubs of a similar level, and are keen to negotiate with ACL.

The club are also interested in retaining some of the match-day revenue, which currently goes to ACL.

As a result, Coventry have been searching for a contingency plan if a deal for the Ricoh falls through, and reports suggested that they could move to Nene Park, home of the now disbanded Rushden & Diamonds and latterly Kettering Town.

However the Sky Blues, who have averaged just under 10,500 fans this season, could now move 13 miles away to Leicestershire if a deal is struck with Hinckley.

Coventry currently lie 15th in League One following their relegation from the Championship last year, and are on a run of three wins out of their
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Comments

  • " The Greene King Stadium can hold 4,329 fans"

    'Kin hell. 
  • Surely they knew the terms of the lease before they went into it?
  • Didn't realise they didn't own the Ricoh
  • Plaaayer said:

    Surely they knew the terms of the lease before they went into it?

    Yes, but it wasn't a good deal for them, so surely they don't have to pay up ? :-)
  • Oh dear Coventry. Thats not a nice feeling for their fans.
  • Not owning your own stadium is an absolute disaster for any football club
  • actually think coventry will make the playoffs since Robins has taken over. If they have a ground that is.

    15/1 for promotion.
  • Another club in danger of biting the dust .. or at least going into administration to avoid paying its debts. A pity because the team has run into decent form lately. Hinckley with a capacity of less than 5,000 is not going to do for Coventry, all such a move will do is plunge the club into even more debt. I can see trouble ahead (but while there's music and love and romance .. let's face the music and dance)
  • actually think coventry will make the playoffs since Robins has taken over. If they have a ground that is.

    15/1 for promotion.

    No way mate, that little honeymoon period will be over soon and they will be back down there fighting for their lives.

  • Nicholas said:

    actually think coventry will make the playoffs since Robins has taken over. If they have a ground that is.

    15/1 for promotion.

    No way mate, that little honeymoon period will be over soon and they will be back down there fighting for their lives.

    What makes me think is that they haven't just been winning they have been scoring for fun

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  • Darlington part 2. I think it was quoted that less than 19k and it would've worked out better financially to have stayed at Highfield Road.
  • When McGoldrick goes back, so will the goals, and the points.
  • Darlington part 2. I think it was quoted that less than 19k and it would've worked out better financially to have stayed at Highfield Road.

    off topic .. did you read that D'ton are selling their ground to a 'minor league' Rugby Union club for 2million. The Rugby club sold it's outta town greenfield site for 6million and is making a play for the RU bigtime
  • Darlington part 2. I think it was quoted that less than 19k and it would've worked out better financially to have stayed at Highfield Road.

    off topic .. did you read that D'ton are selling their ground to a 'minor league' Rugby Union club for 2million. The Rugby club sold it's outta town greenfield site for 6million and is making a play for the RU bigtime
    I did as it goes!
  • They have a massive stadium but think they should pay less rent because they have been relegated?

    what a rubbish argument that is.
  • Surely it's in the best interest for both parties to sort it out. Who exactly are going to rent the Ricoh if Coventry City move out?
  • But they have a point. If they don't use the stadium - who else will. I'm sure looking at other grounds is designed to blackmail the owners into agreeing something more favourable. Maybe better to get less from Coventry with agreement to get more when they are in a higher division than nothing!
  • Surely it's in the best interest for both parties to sort it out. Who exactly are going to rent the Ricoh if Coventry City move out?

    MK Dons? They might be getting bored in Milton Keynes by now.

  • Nicholas said:

    actually think coventry will make the playoffs since Robins has taken over. If they have a ground that is.

    15/1 for promotion.

    No way mate, that little honeymoon period will be over soon and they will be back down there fighting for their lives.

    15/1 ? .. I might have some of that .. a desperate team might fight like f**k for promotion ,, BUT on the other hand the owners might chuck out a few bargains in the January sales
  • Nicholas said:

    actually think coventry will make the playoffs since Robins has taken over. If they have a ground that is.

    15/1 for promotion.

    No way mate, that little honeymoon period will be over soon and they will be back down there fighting for their lives.

    15/1 ? .. I might have some of that .. a desperate team might fight like f**k for promotion ,, BUT on the other hand the owners might chuck out a few bargains in the January sales
    Don't think they have any bargains left. Just overpaid shit that is in league 1 for a reason, and we know that feeling................
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  • A salutary lesson for anyone who would consider a move from The Valley. Clubs should only move grounds when it is in their interests and not dependant on various factors which may or may not occur.

    The story regarding going to Hinkley is, I suspect, largely for negotiation purposes. However, it is staggering to think a club could be better off by reducing it's crowd by over 50% (as would happen if they went from the Ricoh to Hinkley).

    Somebody must of made some money from the sale of Highfield Road, who was that?
    Somebody must have made some money from the move to the Ricoh & the associated retail development, who was that?
    I doubt whether in either of the above questions that the answer is Coventry City FC.

    Coventry, I think, are owned by a hedge fund. Not sure I would want them managing my money.

    West Ham will, in all probability, shortly move to the Olympic Stadium. The Boleyn ground was worth 25 - 30 million pounds in 2010. They will, I understand, pay 15 million pounds to go to Stratford plus 8 million a year in rent.

    Lets say the Boleyn ground is sold for 31 million pounds. In this scenario, in the first two years at Stratford,any additional money West Ham make over and above what they would of earned at the Boleyn ground is additional profit. After two years have passed from the move, the money from the sale of the Boleyn ground will have gone and West Ham have to find 8 million pounds per annum. Of course, West Ham will probably get more fans attending games than they did at the Boleyn ground, and some (but certainly not all ) of these will be paying more money, but will the additional cash generated be greater than 8 million. If the move to Stratford generates in excess of 8 million pounds per annum more than the Boleyn ground did, then the move is a success financially (this ignores the emotional and spectating aspects of the move).

    If following a move West Ham fail to generate the additional 8 million pounds per annum, then they will effectively lose money, with an inevitable knock on effect on both club and team. Of course West Ham are, like any football club, subject to the possibility of relegation in any event, this eventuality would make losing money on the move even more likely. The next few years could see West Ham become more successful, but Coventry show the alternative.

  • Nicholas said:

    actually think coventry will make the playoffs since Robins has taken over. If they have a ground that is.

    15/1 for promotion.

    No way mate, that little honeymoon period will be over soon and they will be back down there fighting for their lives.

    What makes me think is that they haven't just been winning they have been scoring for fun

    I agree with ya mate they have been flying of late. I just always find in football these little honeymoon periods never tend to last. No doubt they will finish mid table proving were both crap gamblers :)

  • Nicholas said:

    Nicholas said:

    actually think coventry will make the playoffs since Robins has taken over. If they have a ground that is.

    15/1 for promotion.

    No way mate, that little honeymoon period will be over soon and they will be back down there fighting for their lives.

    What makes me think is that they haven't just been winning they have been scoring for fun

    I agree with ya mate they have been flying of late. I just always find in football these little honeymoon periods never tend to last. No doubt they will finish mid table proving were both crap gamblers :)

    and also if they get enough points clear to handle a points deduction admin will be very tempting

  • Very sad situation. Very important lesson not to pawn your assets.
  • The stadium owners - ACL - are, I believe still, a joint venture between the council & a local charity. Coventry FC never got to own the stadium at all as they were relegated from the Prem before they were due to move in & ACL was formed/stepped in.

    The deal was a poor one from the start, with the club paying about £1.2m a year, regardless of gates, no benefit from match-day sales at the kiosks, nothing from the £10m naming rights (3 years to run on that deal) & nothing from the concerts regularly put on. Even Man City did their deal based on a proportion of gate receipts, which allows at least some control over costs in a decline. Isn't going to happen to them obviously, but was done before their take-over & only good business sense.

    It's going to be a horrible few months for Cov & their fans & doesn't look good.

  • Why clubs like them even think of moving ground is beyond me.
    Highfield Road was perfect for a club of Coventrys size and a good ground at that.
  • The Ricoh is a nice modern ground but when I went we did sing "your ground's too big for you"!
  • The Ricoh is worst stadium I've been to. yes it's modern and clean but is absolutely souless, even by the standards of modern out of town bowl type stadiums.

    It's a horrible story though because they're a proper club, Coventry. It's hard to understand how they've neded up in such a mess.
  • How could a move to Hinkley help? Surely if Coventry have a lease at Ricoh they would still have to pay the rent for it even if they moved away? then they would just be lumbered with Hinkley rent on top - sounds like rubbish negotiation skills to me!
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