Coventry City: Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group serve stadium eviction notice

Coventry City have been issued with an eviction notice by the new owners of the Coventry Building Society Arena.

Former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group took over the stadium last month after buying its three former operating companies.

They say the Championship club has no continuing right to use the ground unless a new licence is agreed.

The club’s existing licence runs until 2031, but they say the proposed new one would expire in May 2023.

Frasers do not believe they are bound by the previous agreement with the stadium’s former owners, Wasps rugby club, who went into administration on 18 October.

However, Coventry said that discussions with Frasers Group prior to their purchase of the ground led them “to understand the existing terms would continue unchanged”.

A club statement said: “Frasers Group have now presented to Coventry City a new agreement with new commercial terms, which have been presented to us without any dialogue or negotiations, and are less favourable to the football club.

“Frasers Group have said they would negotiate for beyond May 2023, but this leaves us without the security and certainty that our current deal provides to us and our fans.”

Club officials were informed on Friday they must return keys and access cards and an FA Youth Cup game on Saturday was switched to Leamington Town FC.

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Coventry are away to Reading when their Championship campaign resumes on Saturday and their next scheduled home fixture is against Swansea on 17 December.

But they hope Frasers will change tack and agree to let the existing licence remain.

“Following Frasers Group’s purchase of the Arena, one of the great assets of the city of Coventry, they stated they were ‘looking forward to working with Coventry City Football Club’,” the club statement added.

“Coventry City hope that they will act on those words for the good of the Arena, the football club, our fans and the city and community that they are now part of.”

Frasers ‘supportive’ of Coventry playing at CBS Arena

In a statement, Frasers Group said they wanted to work with the club to make sure the stadium could host their upcoming matches.

“Frasers has, throughout all its involvement with the stadium, been supportive of securing the long-term future of CCFC playing its games at the stadium. This position remains unchanged,” the statement said.

“Prior to acquiring the stadium, Frasers issued a new licence mirroring the terms CCFC had agreed with the previous owners. However, CCFC chose not to sign it at that time.

“A revised proposal, together with a new licence, has been issued to CCFC and will secure the immediate future of CCFC at the stadium.

“Signing the licence would allow for more detailed discussions to take place about CCFC’s long-term arrangements at the stadium, including to accommodate a number of requests which were raised by CCFC.

“Frasers looks forward to working with the club to host the upcoming games.”

Coventry City Council, meanwhile, say they are hopeful that the issues between the club and Frasers Group could be “successfully resolved through dialogue” as soon as possible.

“The city council has always been clear that one of its strategic objectives is for the football club to continue to play at the CBS Arena and that position has not changed,” said a spokesperson.

Coventry’s ongoing ground saga

The Sky Blues moved to the then Ricoh Arena from their former Highfield Road home in 2005.

But a dispute with their landlords saw them decamp to Northampton Town’s Sixfields ground for home games in 2013-14.

Wasps bought Coventry City Council’s 50% stake in the stadium in October 2014 and the following month acquired the remaining shareholding from the Alan Edward Higgs Charity, with the Sky Blues returning as tenants.

But rent issues saw Coventry move to Birmingham City’s St Andrew’s stadium in 2019, spending two seasons there and winning promotion from League One in the process.

They finally returned home for the start of the 2021-22 season but there were further problems at the start of the current campaign because of the state of the pitch after it was used for rugby sevens matches during the Commonwealth Games.

Following the demise of Wasps, the CBS Arena’s operating companies, Arena Coventry Ltd (ACL), Arena Coventry (2006) Ltd and IEC Experience Ltd, also went into administration, enabling Frasers Group to buy them for £17m.

A judge rejected a £25m bid for the stadium from businessman Doug King, saying it had come too late, but he is going ahead with a plan to buy an 85% controlling stake in the club from current owners Sisu, subject to approval by the English Football League.

But even that is not straightforward, with the sale being challenged by rival bidder William Storey, who says the deal breaches an exclusivity agreement he had with Sisu, although they insist his claim is “untrue and unhelpful”.

‘Nightmare before Christmas’

Analysis – BBC CWR political editor Simon Gilbert

This is truly turning into the nightmare before Christmas for Coventry City fans.

When new owners of the football club and the stadium were confirmed last month, many hoped this would be the end of nearly two decades of off field drama.

Those hopes appear to have been dashed in just a matter of weeks.

The reasons for the notice of eviction are not yet clear. But what we do know is that hope of the Sky Blues returning to the venue is not yet entirely lost.

Coventry City’s next scheduled home game isn’t for another 12 days – and that’s a long time in a saga where we saw new owners of the club and stadium named in just 24 hours.

Officials will be working round the clock to try to find a resolution and bring Sky Blues fans some much needed festive cheer.