Coventry...

[jonny72]

it was boro, bryan robson was in charge and i think half the team had the flu.

The funny thing about that story is that they were relegated that season and if they had played the game when they were supposed to, even if they had to put the youth team out and lost 50-0, they would have stayed up. It was the 3 point deduction that got them relegated.

I'm almost glad they've made a stand as a club over the extortionate rates of rent, without the club playing there, the stadium owners will struggle to make money. It's a classic example of how football has become far too much about what money can be made from it, having said that it's a risky tactic and they stupidly agreed to the terms in the first place believing the team would always do the business on the pitch..........short sighted to the extreme.

That's mis-representing what happened. Coventry decided to move to a new stadium and then ran out of money before it was completed. So they had to be bailed out by the council and a local charity who took ownership of the stadium with Coventry agreeing to pay the rent that is now in dispute.

It's got nothing to do with someone trying to make money out of football, the bail out was to save the stadium build and give Coventry a home, not to make a profit. The reality is just the same as with every other club that gets in to financial difficulties - thinking they should be bigger than they are and risking everything in pursuit of glory.

[melksham_exile]

The funny thing about that story is that they were relegated that season and if they had played the game when they were supposed to, even if they had to put the youth team out and lost 50-0, they would have stayed up. It was the 3 point deduction that got them relegated.

That's mis-representing what happened. Coventry decided to move to a new stadium and then ran out of money before it was completed. So they had to be bailed out by the council and a local charity who took ownership of the stadium with Coventry agreeing to pay the rent that is now in dispute.
It's got nothing to do with someone trying to make money out of football, the bail out was to save the stadium build and give Coventry a home, not to make a profit. The reality is just the same as with every other club that gets in to financial difficulties - thinking they should be bigger than they are and risking everything in pursuit of glory.

It's not mis-representation at all. The point I'm trying to make is bail out or no bail out, the £100,000 monthly rent is not a figure that'll just about cover costs and pay back an outstanding amount slowly, it's extortionate. Just because the council are involved doesn't mean the rental figures are in some way mediated, how many times have we been up in arms about the "astronomical" rent we pay?

[kerry red]

And West Ham will be paying £2m per year for the Olympic Park when they move in.

Not much fun for them if they are not in the PL then.

Apparently they only fill Upton Park 4 or 5 times a year (35,000) so why they think they will fill the new 54,000 venue is beyond me

[Batch]

They built the stadium for championship and premiership footy. It hadn't worked out. That's the clubs problem. In this case rent arrears  get less sympathetic ears from me after not paying for over a year.

[TheDukeOfBanbury]

....and meanwhile I am concerned on what is happening at STFC.

Hope all is well but remain suspicious.

Our history makes us the way we are.

[melksham_exile]

That's farcical too. They'll probably have to give a percentage of match day revenue from hospitality too. If they did get relegated while in that stadium, they'll be one of the next "big names" in trouble

[brocklesby red]

As i understand it,Coventry earn nothing whatsoever from any of the concessions at the stadium and their only income is the revenue from ticket sales.As their attendances have dropped substantially,then so have their income and they have no way of paying the amount of rent that they agreed to.Hardly the fault of the Stadium owners though.

[TheDukeOfBanbury]

As i understand it,Coventry earn nothing whatsoever from any of the concessions at the stadium and their only income is the revenue from ticket sales.As their attendances have dropped substantially,then so have their income and they have no way of paying the amount of rent that they agreed to.Hardly the fault of the Stadium owners though.

This is correct. All catering profits go to stadium. There is something about the pitch as well. I went corporate a few weeks back and even then they were talking about having to go to B&Q for grass seed for the pitch !! Fantastic stadium that will lie empty every Saturday without football...crazy.

[@MacPhlea]

The more I read this the more I think the old regime did the right thing by refurbishing the existing stadium and not rushing into building a new one

[donkey]

Errr...

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/coventry-city-fc/coventry-city-fc-news/2013/03/23/coventry-city-move-out-of-the-ricoh-92746-33046766/

[Batch]

Errr...

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/coventry-city-fc/coventry-city-fc-news/2013/03/23/coventry-city-move-out-of-the-ricoh-92746-33046766/

Ideally, we would like to keep playing our home matches at the Ricoh if the stadium owners, Arena Coventry Ltd (ACL) will offer reasonable commercial terms. All we've ever asked for is an affordable rent with access to matchday revenues, like any other club. We hope these will be offered to us by ACL.

That is one hell of a play of brinkmanship to try and force ACL's hand in renegotiating the contract. I think ACL need them as much as they need ACL, so I think it'll be resolved.

[donkey]

That is one hell of a play of brinkmanship to try and force ACL's hand in renegotiating the contract. I think ACL need them as much as they need ACL, so I think it'll be resolved.

I agree, but I may not be so calm if I was a Cov fan.  Coventry continue to be a warning and a lesson to us fans about how a club can be run.  We must remain vigilant.

[[email protected]]

That is one hell of a play of brinkmanship to try and force ACL's hand in renegotiating the contract. I think ACL need them as much as they need ACL, so I think it'll be resolved.

I couldn't make it up there the other day but everyone I know that did go said it was nice place.  If it was owned by the club then they could do well out of it as I understand there is a hotel, casino, and the like for non matchday revenue.

I also think this has a whiff of brinkmanship about it, but I wouldn't be at all surprised it it all goes horribly wrong for them.

[Summerof69]

They should never have moved out of Highfield Road.

[No Longer Posh Red]

I agree, but I may not be so calm if I was a Cov fan.  Coventry continue to be a warning and a lesson to us fans about how a club can be run.  We must remain vigilant.

Also that ground redevelopment at any cost is not necessarily a good thing.

It needs to be done, but the most important thing is that it's done right