Leekbrookgull
Well-known member
Just one place off the foot of the table,huge debts (it seems) falling gates and they rent the ground,have we been here before ?http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-19674004
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Are Coventry City the next 'Brighton' ?
- Thread starter Leekbrookgull
- Start date
MORTY
Well-known member
No.
albion534
Well-known member
haha no chance!
Coventry isnt exactly a thriving city now is it
Coventry isnt exactly a thriving city now is it
cliveh27
New member
I would disagree. They have a good catchment area, so have the potential for good crowds. All they need is a good management team and a long-term plan to get them into shape. They already have a modern ground with a good capacity (32,000+)
supaseagull
Well-known member
The stadium isn't theirs to own and much of the revenue bought into the stadium goes to the trust who own part of the stadium along with the council.
The club also owe £600k in rent which they've been unable to pay.
However reading the article below should mean that they should be able to bring in some decent revenue.
BBC News - Coventry City Ricoh Arena ownership deal
I work in Coventry. They are in real trouble. They rent Thierry stadium and get little of the match day income. Beer and pie sales to stadium owners. They remortgaged their training centre too. They have naff all season Tickets and few pay on the gate.
The problems stem from when highfield road was sold. They were planning on building the Ricoh straightaway but there were problems with the land. They ended up paying more in rent for highfield road while they waited for Ricoh to be built than they got for selling it.
Sadly it was another case of an owner getting greedy and trying to make a profit from his club.
I really worry about cov. They need to produce a few academy players of worth every year to succeed or they are stuffed.
The problems stem from when highfield road was sold. They were planning on building the Ricoh straightaway but there were problems with the land. They ended up paying more in rent for highfield road while they waited for Ricoh to be built than they got for selling it.
Sadly it was another case of an owner getting greedy and trying to make a profit from his club.
I really worry about cov. They need to produce a few academy players of worth every year to succeed or they are stuffed.
Just seen this as for some reason my post did not work web I originally tried.
Captain Sensible
Well-known member
Biggest difference is Cov don't own their ground and are millions more in debt than we were.
brighton rock
New member
Do Brighton own their own ground or does the chap who put all the cash up to build it still own the rights ?
supaseagull
Well-known member
Brighton DO own their ground as the chap who put the money up is the chairman.
brighton rock
New member
Good news the chap seems to know his beans
Tony Towner's Fridge
Well-known member
Midlands football is currently in a downward spiral, I don't include Stoke in that because they don't play football. Brum,Vanilla,Wolves,Cov ...........
TNBA
TTF
TNBA
TTF
It's 100% the management's fault. They made an agreement on the rent, now they're saying it's out of line with League 1 rents - well yes it is, but a) it's your fault you're in league 1, b) it was up to you when agreeing the terms to make the rent dependent on which league you were in, c) you don't have an average league 1 ground do you, you have a modern 32.5k stadium.
However, I still empathise with the fans, it's not their fault the owners were greedy idiots. Although a few more fans could turn up and support the club - it was going to be a 45k capacity stadium, and they get 6k a game.
In some ways that could work in their favour. When Halifax went bust they didn't own The Shay (they'd already sold it to the local Council the previous time they'd hit money troubles). Suddenly here was a football ground without a football team. All of a sudden the 'new' Halifax appeared and were taken on as tenants! Effectively they'd legitimately wiped out all their debts and were able to start again in the same ground. They DID have to start at the bottom of the Pyramid mind - but as they were virtually there already it wasn't that big a deal.
Not owning the ground helped as when they'd sold it originally there was a covenant put in place that it must always be used for sport (Halifax RFC play there), so there was no property speculator waiting in the wings eyeing up the real estate. Wonder if Coventry could do a similar deal? However even if they could there would probably be resistance from the fanbase at having to start from the bottom and work up, and we'll have to put up with the usual 'nobody likes to see a club go bust' bollocks.
A lot of the Cov fans I know are seriously worried about this, but all agree that it is poor management from the owners which has led to this.
However, I believe the current owners SISU pledged to buy a 50% share in the stadium when they took over which has not materialised, causing a lot of resentment from the fanbase. The rent they pay for the stadium is not only the highest in League 1, it is higher than any in the Championship as well, and they make nothing from match day sales either. Even if they stump up the rent money, its hardly a business model which is likely to cause the club to grow and progress.
Their current attendances are very poor, and were poor even when they were in the Championship. I think this is due to general apathy amongst the fans, with only the hardcore now attending matches. Personally I liked Highfield Road and went to many matches there but find the Ricoh to be a soulless bowl with no atmosphere and overpriced tickets.
However, I believe the current owners SISU pledged to buy a 50% share in the stadium when they took over which has not materialised, causing a lot of resentment from the fanbase. The rent they pay for the stadium is not only the highest in League 1, it is higher than any in the Championship as well, and they make nothing from match day sales either. Even if they stump up the rent money, its hardly a business model which is likely to cause the club to grow and progress.
Their current attendances are very poor, and were poor even when they were in the Championship. I think this is due to general apathy amongst the fans, with only the hardcore now attending matches. Personally I liked Highfield Road and went to many matches there but find the Ricoh to be a soulless bowl with no atmosphere and overpriced tickets.
Bwian
Kiss my (_!_)
- Jul 14, 2003
- 15,898
Sounds like us at Withdean. It's no wonder we're years behind Payless in terms of Academy players coming through and all the other benefits not paying your way offers. Coventry are in the same spiral The Albion were-only they don't have a bunch of crooks deliberately running the club down. Their problems stem from some very poor decisions made while they were at Highfield.
Yeah I've often thought there are some worrying parallels and there are rumours of a possible groundshare with another Midlands club which would obviously take the parallel even further! Cov actually have a fairly decent Academy setup, but I can see that going downhill fast if things are not rectified soon.