torchomatic
Well-Known Member
COVENTRY’S council and sporting authorities face questions over whether a co-ordinated drive to create a ‘City of Rugby’ is squeezing out the Sky Blues and elite youth football – potentially contravening a ten-year citywide Sports Strategy amid possible conflicts of interest.
The Observer’s ‘Save Our City’ campaign has conducted an investigation into how sport is governed in Coventry.
It raises major concerns over transparency and accountability, how decisions are being made and by who.
Our campaign launched last week calls to retain the Coventry City Football Club academy in Coventry and for a better stadium deal for the 133-year-old club.
A ‘Coventry Sports Strategy 2014-2024′ was democratically approved at a full Coventry City Council meeting of councillors in September 2014, following public consultation.
But we uncover today how major decisions since about sports in Coventry have been taken away from the public spotlight, and involve and tangled web of individuals and organisations.
Brought in by the council to draw up the overarching Coventry Sports Strategy 2014-2024 was a charity, the Coventry Sports Foundation (CSF), whose chief executive is Paul Breed and directors include former Olympic athlete Dave Moorcroft.
It also operates the Alan Higgs Centre where the football club has its lifeblood youth academy -creating future stars and developing young talent – within purpose-built facilities.
As we revealed from leaked emails last week, Mr Breed wrote to the football club in April this year and again this month to re-iterate that the academy’s arrangements will end next June.
Long-standing proposals for rugby newcomers Wasps – who already own the Ricoh Arena after its sale by the council and Alan Edward Higgs Charity in October 2014 – to move its training facilities into the Sky Blues’ academy home were confirmed when a planning application was submitted to the council a fortnight ago. Coventry City Council owns the freehold to the Higgs centre.
The Coventry Observer is today lodging Freedom of Information requests to Coventry City Council to question what talks took place with council officers or councillors involving other parties prior to Wasps’ planning application; and concerning all contact between the council and Wasps which initially took place as early as 2012, a recent judicial review heard.
The Coventry Observer supports the Sky Blues’ call for Coventry to be a ‘city of all sports’. Fans’ group the Sky Blue Trust has also launched a Save Our Academy campaign.
Councillors in October 2014, in agreeing in private the Ricoh’s sale to London Wasps, talked publicly about Coventry being a city of rugby, and claimed conditions of the deal included that Coventry rugby club and the Sky Blues would not be harmed.
The stadium deal was on a massively extended 250-year lease not offered to the Sky Blues who continue as mere tenants without commercial stadium revenues which go to Wasps.
It was announced the previous month that the Sky Blues were to return to the Ricoh after a year of playing ‘home’ games in Northampton after a legal dispute over Ricoh rent, revenues and ownership.
Leading councillors including the late Phil Townshend publicly stated at the time that councillors hoped the Sky Blues’ triumphant return would be followed by talks about the club potentially finally buying into the stadium built for it.
But long-standing secret talks with Wasps over Ricoh Arena ownership were strictly hidden from the public.
The Observer’s ‘Save Our City’ campaign has conducted an investigation into how sport is governed in Coventry.
It raises major concerns over transparency and accountability, how decisions are being made and by who.
Our campaign launched last week calls to retain the Coventry City Football Club academy in Coventry and for a better stadium deal for the 133-year-old club.
A ‘Coventry Sports Strategy 2014-2024′ was democratically approved at a full Coventry City Council meeting of councillors in September 2014, following public consultation.
But we uncover today how major decisions since about sports in Coventry have been taken away from the public spotlight, and involve and tangled web of individuals and organisations.
Brought in by the council to draw up the overarching Coventry Sports Strategy 2014-2024 was a charity, the Coventry Sports Foundation (CSF), whose chief executive is Paul Breed and directors include former Olympic athlete Dave Moorcroft.
It also operates the Alan Higgs Centre where the football club has its lifeblood youth academy -creating future stars and developing young talent – within purpose-built facilities.
As we revealed from leaked emails last week, Mr Breed wrote to the football club in April this year and again this month to re-iterate that the academy’s arrangements will end next June.
Long-standing proposals for rugby newcomers Wasps – who already own the Ricoh Arena after its sale by the council and Alan Edward Higgs Charity in October 2014 – to move its training facilities into the Sky Blues’ academy home were confirmed when a planning application was submitted to the council a fortnight ago. Coventry City Council owns the freehold to the Higgs centre.
The Coventry Observer is today lodging Freedom of Information requests to Coventry City Council to question what talks took place with council officers or councillors involving other parties prior to Wasps’ planning application; and concerning all contact between the council and Wasps which initially took place as early as 2012, a recent judicial review heard.
The Coventry Observer supports the Sky Blues’ call for Coventry to be a ‘city of all sports’. Fans’ group the Sky Blue Trust has also launched a Save Our Academy campaign.
Councillors in October 2014, in agreeing in private the Ricoh’s sale to London Wasps, talked publicly about Coventry being a city of rugby, and claimed conditions of the deal included that Coventry rugby club and the Sky Blues would not be harmed.
The stadium deal was on a massively extended 250-year lease not offered to the Sky Blues who continue as mere tenants without commercial stadium revenues which go to Wasps.
It was announced the previous month that the Sky Blues were to return to the Ricoh after a year of playing ‘home’ games in Northampton after a legal dispute over Ricoh rent, revenues and ownership.
Leading councillors including the late Phil Townshend publicly stated at the time that councillors hoped the Sky Blues’ triumphant return would be followed by talks about the club potentially finally buying into the stadium built for it.
But long-standing secret talks with Wasps over Ricoh Arena ownership were strictly hidden from the public.
