Maton needs to own up to the reality that the Council’s Wasps project is in tatters. It’s easy to understand why capitulating to SISU was politically impossible, and how it became ‘anyone but SISU’. And with Wasps’ initial promises of investment and top-class sport in Coventry, I can see why there was cross-party support for going down that route. The illusion was maintained for a while, with marketing and freebies, a bunch of big names on the pitch, and plenty of floating day-out rugby followers.
But the risks were huge, the promises were all broken and it’s going down the pan very fast. The debts are insurmountable and the ‘product’ they are offering now looks shit, so I can’t see a future for them in Coventry.
But is that good news for the city or for CCFC? Some people assume that if Wasps go bust and/or leave, we’ll somehow gain by snapping up the stadium for next to nothing, but how would that happen, who would really own it, and where would all the debts go? And does much money in football come from owning and maintaining a stadium anyway? Isn’t it supposed to be a white elephant? I imagine CCFC could prosper under a decent landlord, just paying a sensible rent, investing in the playing side and aiming for the promised land. But for SISU football seems to be a sideline, it’s all about the real estate. Even in the arguments about the pitch, that agenda is lurking.