Coventry City Council leader: we're working together for a new football stadium

Available for over a year

Coventry City Football Club's plans for a new ground at the University of Warwick are gathering pace, after the long-running stadium row involving the Sky Blues, Wasps and the City Council appears to finally be over. The row had been going on for almost a decade after the CBS Arena, then known as the Ricoh Arena, was sold to Wasps in 2014. The focus is now on plans for a new development. Joy Seppala, owner of Coventry City FC, said: “Following discussions with the University of Warwick, we are now able to end all proceedings relating to the sale of the Coventry Building Society Arena. As we move forward with our vision, we want to draw a clear line under the past and continue to build new and strong relationships with all our partners, including Coventry City Council. We can now move forward to achieve this, and together, deliver a football club which the city of Coventry can continue to be proud.” Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Warwick, said: “We have worked closely with Coventry City FC to get to this point. I want to thank both Cllr George Duggins and Joy Seppala for their openness, collaboration, and forward-thinking. I’m delighted that Coventry City FC have now sought to end all proceedings and together we can move forward together towards an exciting future. The University of Warwick is proud to be able to support our city’s football club. Not only will this benefit the club and its fans, but the wider benefits to the city will be significant.” You can hear council leader George Duggins speaking to BBC CWR presenter Phil Upton.