dongonzalos
Well-Known Member
Why Coventry City have only themselves to blame for missing out on a stake in the Ricoh Arena................
Wasps are in talks to buy a major stake in the Ricoh Arena and it's Coventry City's fault
The crowd at the floodlit Ricoh Arena
The proposed deal for Wasps to buy a controlling stake in the company that runs the Ricoh Arena has quickly dashed any hopes of a lasting peace between the owners of Coventry City and ACL.
Why did we think it would be any different?
When the Coventry Telegraph declared it was time to #bringCityhome we said that despite the bad blood between the two sides, everyone had to move on.
Of course not everyone did. Sisu are still pursuing the council in an expensive legal battle they have already comprehensively lost once and in which they have criticised by a judge for trying to “distress ACL’s financial position, with a view to driving down the value of ACL and thus the price of a share in it”.
And that’s the real problem here. After being subjected to a sustained legal and financial assault it can hardly be a revelation that Coventry City Council and the Alan Edwards Higgs Charity don’t fancy selling their ACL shares to Sisu and have decided to move on with another buyer.
When the Alan Edwards Higgs Charity bailed out the Sky Blues in 2003 and bought their half share in ACL they did so with the intention of selling it back. A formula was even agreed to fix the price.
Sisu and the charity did try to do a deal – with the consent of the council – in 2012 but it fell apart because, in the words of a judge , “neither party had any appetite to seek to pursue negotiations or seek to conclude such a deal.”
The club have wasted ELEVEN years in which they could and should have coughed up for a stake in the stadium they call home.
That ship looks to have sailed and instead they could now find themselves, at best, as tenants in their home city to a club from a different sport and a different part of the country who will churn up the pitch every other week during the season.
Good luck to Steven Pressley and the passing game he demands from the team. And good luck to Coventry Rugby Club, steadily and lovingly being rebuilt in the third tier of English rugby but now waiting for a top-flight side to land on their doorstep.
So what - or where - next for Coventry City?
The two-year deal agreed for the Ricoh return gives short-term security but we don’t know the detail of the two-year option that follows and the future is now far from certain.
They started talking about building a new stadium more than year ago but, despite promises from directors that they hoped to announce a site last September and then January, we still have no idea where that may be.
There has been a change in language from the club this year, with the message that the Sky Blues need to ‘own’ their own stadium - the word build, whether deliberately or not, seemingly dropped like an out-of-favour player.
Maybe, having bought a controlling stake in the Ricoh, Wasps will want to cash in by becoming partners with their tenants, or maybe they’ll want to up the rent.
There was a theory among some fans that if Sisu got their hands on the Ricoh they would have something to sell and those wanting them out of the club would get their way.
There isn’t a long queue of people wanting to buy a League One club that doesn’t own its own ground. Equally, if it’s not an attractive proposition for potential owners, how attractive will be it for Sisu’s investors (£40m lost and counting) if they lose their last-chance legal fight at the Court of Appeal?
That great night at the Ricoh on September 5 suddenly seems an awfully long time ago.
Wasps are in talks to buy a major stake in the Ricoh Arena and it's Coventry City's fault
The crowd at the floodlit Ricoh Arena
The proposed deal for Wasps to buy a controlling stake in the company that runs the Ricoh Arena has quickly dashed any hopes of a lasting peace between the owners of Coventry City and ACL.
Why did we think it would be any different?
When the Coventry Telegraph declared it was time to #bringCityhome we said that despite the bad blood between the two sides, everyone had to move on.
Of course not everyone did. Sisu are still pursuing the council in an expensive legal battle they have already comprehensively lost once and in which they have criticised by a judge for trying to “distress ACL’s financial position, with a view to driving down the value of ACL and thus the price of a share in it”.
And that’s the real problem here. After being subjected to a sustained legal and financial assault it can hardly be a revelation that Coventry City Council and the Alan Edwards Higgs Charity don’t fancy selling their ACL shares to Sisu and have decided to move on with another buyer.
When the Alan Edwards Higgs Charity bailed out the Sky Blues in 2003 and bought their half share in ACL they did so with the intention of selling it back. A formula was even agreed to fix the price.
Sisu and the charity did try to do a deal – with the consent of the council – in 2012 but it fell apart because, in the words of a judge , “neither party had any appetite to seek to pursue negotiations or seek to conclude such a deal.”
The club have wasted ELEVEN years in which they could and should have coughed up for a stake in the stadium they call home.
That ship looks to have sailed and instead they could now find themselves, at best, as tenants in their home city to a club from a different sport and a different part of the country who will churn up the pitch every other week during the season.
Good luck to Steven Pressley and the passing game he demands from the team. And good luck to Coventry Rugby Club, steadily and lovingly being rebuilt in the third tier of English rugby but now waiting for a top-flight side to land on their doorstep.
So what - or where - next for Coventry City?
The two-year deal agreed for the Ricoh return gives short-term security but we don’t know the detail of the two-year option that follows and the future is now far from certain.
They started talking about building a new stadium more than year ago but, despite promises from directors that they hoped to announce a site last September and then January, we still have no idea where that may be.
There has been a change in language from the club this year, with the message that the Sky Blues need to ‘own’ their own stadium - the word build, whether deliberately or not, seemingly dropped like an out-of-favour player.
Maybe, having bought a controlling stake in the Ricoh, Wasps will want to cash in by becoming partners with their tenants, or maybe they’ll want to up the rent.
There was a theory among some fans that if Sisu got their hands on the Ricoh they would have something to sell and those wanting them out of the club would get their way.
There isn’t a long queue of people wanting to buy a League One club that doesn’t own its own ground. Equally, if it’s not an attractive proposition for potential owners, how attractive will be it for Sisu’s investors (£40m lost and counting) if they lose their last-chance legal fight at the Court of Appeal?
That great night at the Ricoh on September 5 suddenly seems an awfully long time ago.
