Coventry City are planning for a future away from the Ricoh Arena next season after being "locked out" of the ground.
Arena Coventry Limited, who manage the stadium on behalf of its owners, are in a year-long rent row with the club.
Coventry, who finished 15th in the league, had agreed a short-term deal to finish their season at the stadium.
Sky Blues chief executive Tim Fisher said: "It is with great regret that we now have no alternative but to consider other arrangements for next season."
He continued: "We would be failing the club, its supporters and its staff if we did not start making such plans now.
"We have been told that there is no further room for negotiation and an offer that we made to get back round the negotiating table has been rejected.
"The fact is that we are being locked out of the Ricoh Arena."
The club's owners, Sisu, have been at loggerheads with ACL since they stopped paying their £100,00 monthly rent in April 2012, claiming that it is too high given the fact the club are only tenants and make no money from the sale of refreshments and on-site facilities at the ground.
Discussions between Sisu and ACL collapsed in February, with the Ricoh Arena owners saying they would not resume until the club accepted an agreement drawn up in January.
That agreement included a new rent of £400,000 per year and an offer to write off £300,000 from the £1.3m that Sisu owe.
Following the collapse of talks, Coventry had their bank accounts frozen after ACL issued the League One club with Third Party Debt Orders in an attempt to collect the rent arrears.
That led to the side being put into administration and subsequently receiving a 10-point deduction from the Football League.
The club had taken the decision to empty their Ricoh Arena offices and shop in March, and now look set to leave their home since 2005, following their relocation from Highfield Road.
ACL manage the stadium for joint owners the Alan Edward Higgs Charity and Coventry City Council, who the club are taking to court over its decision to lend £14m to the firm.
Fisher added: "The club is keeping the relevant football authorities fully informed of developments, and we will keep everyone informed when there is specific further news."
Good point. Northampton RUFC have used the Ricoh in the past for big Euro matches and concerts are regularly held there. Perhaps Coventry FC can negotiate a BIG rent reduction (doubtful given the lock out) or the Ricoh may be left to rot and be written off as a tax loss by the owners .
Just does not seem fair that they can get away with this sort of thing but they are certainly not the first and won't be the last. At least they won't have the safety certificate issues to overcome like we did.
The most funny thing is I'd like to know what that fat waste of space Jon Gaunt makes of it all seeing as how he's quite happy for Wimbledon to be moved to MK.
What a horrible mess. Not sure where the Club or the Stadium owners think this is going. There's not a lot of local grounds that Coventry could share, at least not with decent facilities (Leicester or Birmingham/Villa are probably the nearest league clubs) and they are all the best part of an hour away. As for the Stadium, there's not a lot of alternative tenants. I don't see how either side wins out of this as it stands.
It's a terrible stadium though. Clean and modern and totally and utterly soulless. If I was a Sky Blue, I'd be quite pleased at the thought of leaving depending on where the club ultimately ended up.
Thing is. As owners of the stadium what choice do they have as tenants other than Coventry City Football Club. Zilch. The choice is no rent or some rent. Pointless chasing the club for monies it doesn't have. Would be astonished if the football club doesn't start the season at the Ricoh.
Anyone got any idea what the 'going rate' for stadium rent is? £1.2m a year sounds very high. £400k sounds more realistic, but I have no idea what other clubs are paying in similar positions.
The Stadium has every right to go after the club for monies owed - the club shouldn't have agreed to the deal knowing it wouldn't be viable if they took a relegation hit, just like you shouldn't sign up for a mortgage you won't be able to afford if interest rates rise.
The trouble is the stadium owner will be cutting off their nose to spite their face if it forces the club bankrupt. Both sides stand to lose if they don't reach some kind of agreement so as others have said I can't see that Coventry won't be playing there next season.
It's yet further proof to me though you are mad sinking money into football expecting to make a profit, even if you're not involved directly in the running/financing of the clubs. TV and merchandise companies, players/managers and agents seem to be the only ones making any serious Wonga from the game these days. Sad state of affairs.
If the council own the ground then why have they charged the team of their own town so much monthly rent? Did they not have the money to build/buy it in first place?
...And that little tart John Aloisi who did the dirty on us.
Blimey yeah of course John Aloisi. It wasn't that long ago really but feels like it was donkeys years ago. He really f****** us about didn't he....blatantly `used' us to drum up interest/get a better deal elsewhere. Wasn't/isn't he an Aussie? Go back far enough and they're all criminals anyway ;P
Far Eastern Consortium (Malaysian and Chinese) have tabled a bid for the club (in administration) and for Ricoh Stadium. If that goes ahead, I'll put money on them being in the EPL within three years.
Far Eastern iConsortium (Malaysian and Chinese) have tabled a bid for the club (in administration) and for Ricoh Stadium. If that goes ahead, I'll put money on them being in the EPL within three years.
Jay I think people said the same thing when Ray Ransom's consortium took over the club .
Is it not possible that there is an outstanding debt that was taken to build the stadium that the rent is servicing?
If that's the case then anything less that the cost of servicing the debt is a continuing subsidy. There comes a point where the stadium needs to pay for itself or the club will continue to not pay and in the end the Council will end up 'giving' the club thousands a year just to maintain the stadium.
Enough is enough. The world has got to stand up to football clubs and if Coventry go bust, so be it. The playoff final win for Palace was galling enough, but to think that they 'blackmailed' a tax payer owned institution to sell them Selhurst way under market value while they knocked their bills, only for them to hit the jackpot three seasons later is evidence that football needs major reform.
Using the fans to threaten democratically elected officialls (with bad PR and potential not being re-elected) is not justification for so much public money to bankroll clearly insolvent businesses.
After what Portsmouth have done, coupled with what Palace have got away with, I wouldn't be surprised if there is not serious pressure from Central Government to give out the message that the tax payer will not bankroll football any more.
Either Coventry pay for the stadium (that apparently cost £113m to build) or they no longer get the use of it. I would also suggest that any cub that allows them to share should demand the money up front as I would support the Council getting a winding up order on the club if they fail to pay for a stadium that (as has already been said) can't, realistically, be rented to anyone else.
Interesting that they have been offered the Ricoh rent free for a year and the deal is not done yet, as it needs to be ratified by the Football League.
Something tells me that there is still some negotiating going on behind the scenes. I have no idea how much rent Coventry owe, but as they are still in Administration I suspect that this move away is to bully the owners of the Ricoh into waiving a little more of what they owe.
God knows what happens to the Ricoh if they do move away.
I'm not sure that they will even satisfy the Football League and come out of Administration by the start of the season. Maybe Coventry are going to be the club that dies as a warning to others. It would bring whole new meaning to being 'sent to Coventry'!
Interesting that they have been offered the Ricoh rent free for a year and the deal is not done yet, as it needs to be ratified by the Football League.
Something tells me that there is still some negotiating going on behind the scenes. I have no idea how much rent Coventry owe, but as they are still in Administration I suspect that this move away is to bully the owners of the Ricoh into waiving a little more of what they owe.
God knows what happens to the Ricoh if they do move away.
I'm not sure that they will even satisfy the Football League and come out of Administration by the start of the season. Maybe Coventry are going to be the club that dies as a warning to others. It would bring whole new meaning to being 'sent to Coventry'!
Been a lot of football league clubs on its last legs, yet they still seem to be standing
Comments
He also got sent off for lamping Danny Mills when we played up there in the Premiership- which looking at it today aint so bad really!
Coventry City are planning for a future away from the Ricoh Arena next season after being "locked out" of the ground.
Arena Coventry Limited, who manage the stadium on behalf of its owners, are in a year-long rent row with the club.
Coventry, who finished 15th in the league, had agreed a short-term deal to finish their season at the stadium.
Sky Blues chief executive Tim Fisher said: "It is with great regret that we now have no alternative but to consider other arrangements for next season."
He continued: "We would be failing the club, its supporters and its staff if we did not start making such plans now.
"We have been told that there is no further room for negotiation and an offer that we made to get back round the negotiating table has been rejected.
"The fact is that we are being locked out of the Ricoh Arena."
The club's owners, Sisu, have been at loggerheads with ACL since they stopped paying their £100,00 monthly rent in April 2012, claiming that it is too high given the fact the club are only tenants and make no money from the sale of refreshments and on-site facilities at the ground.
Discussions between Sisu and ACL collapsed in February, with the Ricoh Arena owners saying they would not resume until the club accepted an agreement drawn up in January.
That agreement included a new rent of £400,000 per year and an offer to write off £300,000 from the £1.3m that Sisu owe.
Following the collapse of talks, Coventry had their bank accounts frozen after ACL issued the League One club with Third Party Debt Orders in an attempt to collect the rent arrears.
That led to the side being put into administration and subsequently receiving a 10-point deduction from the Football League.
The club had taken the decision to empty their Ricoh Arena offices and shop in March, and now look set to leave their home since 2005, following their relocation from Highfield Road.
ACL manage the stadium for joint owners the Alan Edward Higgs Charity and Coventry City Council, who the club are taking to court over its decision to lend £14m to the firm.
Fisher added: "The club is keeping the relevant football authorities fully informed of developments, and we will keep everyone informed when there is specific further news."
Yet another shambolic situation though.
It's a terrible stadium though. Clean and modern and totally and utterly soulless. If I was a Sky Blue, I'd be quite pleased at the thought of leaving depending on where the club ultimately ended up.
Seems pretty a pretty reasonable offer to me and not sure I'd be happy with Coventry playing brinksmanship if I were a council tax payer up there.
The Stadium has every right to go after the club for monies owed - the club shouldn't have agreed to the deal knowing it wouldn't be viable if they took a relegation hit, just like you shouldn't sign up for a mortgage you won't be able to afford if interest rates rise.
The trouble is the stadium owner will be cutting off their nose to spite their face if it forces the club bankrupt. Both sides stand to lose if they don't reach some kind of agreement so as others have said I can't see that Coventry won't be playing there next season.
It's yet further proof to me though you are mad sinking money into football expecting to make a profit, even if you're not involved directly in the running/financing of the clubs. TV and merchandise companies, players/managers and agents seem to be the only ones making any serious Wonga from the game these days. Sad state of affairs.
Because someone will invest in them now they are in admin and the debts are written
Shit c**ts
If that's the case then anything less that the cost of servicing the debt is a continuing subsidy. There comes a point where the stadium needs to pay for itself or the club will continue to not pay and in the end the Council will end up 'giving' the club thousands a year just to maintain the stadium.
Enough is enough. The world has got to stand up to football clubs and if Coventry go bust, so be it. The playoff final win for Palace was galling enough, but to think that they 'blackmailed' a tax payer owned institution to sell them Selhurst way under market value while they knocked their bills, only for them to hit the jackpot three seasons later is evidence that football needs major reform.
Using the fans to threaten democratically elected officialls (with bad PR and potential not being re-elected) is not justification for so much public money to bankroll clearly insolvent businesses.
After what Portsmouth have done, coupled with what Palace have got away with, I wouldn't be surprised if there is not serious pressure from Central Government to give out the message that the tax payer will not bankroll football any more.
Either Coventry pay for the stadium (that apparently cost £113m to build) or they no longer get the use of it. I would also suggest that any cub that allows them to share should demand the money up front as I would support the Council getting a winding up order on the club if they fail to pay for a stadium that (as has already been said) can't, realistically, be rented to anyone else.
bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23163594
Something tells me that there is still some negotiating going on behind the scenes. I have no idea how much rent Coventry owe, but as they are still in Administration I suspect that this move away is to bully the owners of the Ricoh into waiving a little more of what they owe.
God knows what happens to the Ricoh if they do move away.
I'm not sure that they will even satisfy the Football League and come out of Administration by the start of the season. Maybe Coventry are going to be the club that dies as a warning to others. It would bring whole new meaning to being 'sent to Coventry'!
The cobbler fans
Having those dirty sky blue mugs sitting in their season ticket seats