The city council is one of the investors in the project

Coventry City Football Club has lost �2m over plans to build the 32,000-seat Coventry Arena in Foleshill.

Construction company Birse pulled out of the project 18 months ago and the project's financial backer the Portuguese Bank pulled out last week.

All but �21m of the �113m needed has been found.

Coventry City Council is due to make a decision on the project on 16 October.

Former gasworks

A council spokesman said the council was in charge of the construction of the building and Arena Coventry would be running it.

"We are recommending that Laing O'Rourke build the stadium, which is the company responsible for the construction of the new Selfridges in Birmingham and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff," he said.

"The council is set to decide whether to approve the remaining cash needed for the project which it will fund through a loan.

"This will then be paid back when the site is up and running."

Coventry City are scheduled to move into the stadium on the site of the former Foleshill gasworks in the summer of 2005.