Eight months til Coventry City become homeless again - and still no answers

The key players who will decide if Coventry City Football Club can continue to play at the Ricoh Arena will not reveal if any discussions are taking place.

The Sky Blues currently only have 20 games left to play at the stadium before a one-year extension deal allowing them to stay there runs out in May 2019.

That means the side, who had to play their home games in Northampton for a season, could once again be homeless in six months' time.

But despite a campaign from a Coventry City fans' group and questions from CoventryLive, neither Wasps, which owns the stadium, or Coventry City owners Sisu will reveal whether any discussions have yet taken place to secure the club's future.

The Ricoh Arena. — The Sky Blues only have 20 home games left to play at the Ricoh Arena before the one-year extension deal for them to play there ends

What did CoventryLive ask?

When the current one-year deal was announced in February, Wasps chief executive Nick Eastwood said an ongoing legal battle over the sale of the stadium in 2014 remained an "obstacle" to a longer-term agreement.

He added: “We believe it is important for all parties concerned that we clarify at this stage that, unless those obstacles have been overcome by the time those discussions for the 2019/20 season would normally commence, then, regrettably, we will not be in a position to enter such discussions.”

CoventryLive asked Wasps if it was still the situation that Wasps will not enter into discussions for a further extension as legal proceedings are ongoing.

We also asked whether the club had been approached for a further extension, and if the club would consider it.

A spokesman for the club said it did not wish to comment "at this stage".

Sisu did not respond to the following questions from CoventryLive:

Has Sisu approached Wasps for a further extension?

What new deal would Sisu be looking for for Coventry City Football Club to remain at the Ricoh?

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Where will Cov City play next season?

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What do the fans think?

CoventryLive asked readers where they thought the Sky Blues would be playing next season.

There were 1,417 responses.

Out of those, almost half (49 per cent and 688 votes) believe the team will be allowed to stay on at the Ricoh.

But 38 per cent (539 votes) were still concerned that the team would end up playing outside of Coventry.

Another 13 per cent (190 votes) believe the team will remain in the city, but at a different location.

(l/r) George Duggins, Coventry City Council leader; Joy Seppala, Sisu chief executive; Derek Richardson, Wasps owner

Legal battle

The Sky Blues moved into the stadium in 2005 after leaving Highfield Road .

But a long-running row between Coventry City and the owners of the Ricoh Arena began when the club refused to pay what they saw as unreasonable rent for use of the stadium.

This led into an increasingly bitter wrangle which saw club play their home games in Northampton for over a season until returning home in September 2014.

Wasps were announced as the new owners of stadium operators ACL shortly afterwards.

The row returned to the courts earlier this year, with Wasps now also in the sights of the lawyers.

Coventry City owners Sisu - a London hedge fund - have been fighting for a judicial review into the sale after arguing the stadium was undervalued by almost £30million.

Ricoh Arena operating firm Arena Coventry Limited had been jointly owned by the Alan Edward Higgs Charity and Coventry City Council and had just 39 years left on its lease.

But when Wasps bought both 50 per cent stakes the lease was extended to 250 years - and Sisu claims this greatly increased the value of the firm.

The football club’s owners want Wasps to make up the shortfall - which they calculate at around £27million - and pay them damages for doing a deal which meant they had no opportunity to buy the Ricoh Arena on similar terms.

Lawyers for all sides were at the Court of Appeal in June, but a decision on whether a full judicial review will go ahead is not expected until at least October 1.

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Fans' campaign

Moz Baker, chairman of the Sky Blue Trust , said fans deserved to know where their team would be playing next season.

The Trust has relaunched its campaign to help secure the club’s future after first putting pressure on the key players last year when the team was once again at risk of becoming homeless.

Mr Baker said the one-year extension deal had “merely delayed the need for something more permanent”.

He added: “We will therefore again this season be raising this critical issue after each league game is played at the Ricoh. Asking a simple question of ALL parties with a vested interest in Coventry City to let fans know what they are doing/can do to ensure the Sky Blues have a suitable home ground to play in beyond this current season.”