Source: Coventry MAD
Source: FOOTYMAD
Get Cov Back To The Ricoh Call For Independent Survey
Statement Issued RE: OUR FORMAL PUBLIC MEETING WITH COUNCIL LEADER ANN LUCAS THIS THURS (NOV 28), WHEN WE WILL CALL ON THE COUNCIL TO CONDUCT A SURVEY INTO THE LOSS TO THE CITY'S ECONOMY AND TAXPAYERS OF THE CITY LOSING OUR FOOTBALL CLUB A Sky Blues fans' campaign is to call on Coventry City Council to commission an independent survey into the loss to the city's economy of losing the football club (a) temporarily and (b) permanently – in a formal public meeting with council leader Ann Lucas on Thursday (November 28). The Get Cov Back To The Ricoh campaign - set up to redress the balance in campaigning and ensure pressure on all sides – has been invited to give a presentation to councillor Lucas's Cabinet Member (Policy and Leadership) meeting at 1pm. The meeting is a response to the campaign's petition in October, signed by more than 1000 people in a week and presented to the council after a demonstration outside the Council House. The petition, on website change.org, calls on the council to do more to bring the football club back home to the council-owned Ricoh Arena – and help bring an end to the club's temporary groundsharing at Northampton Town. It called for negotiations over stadium revenues and a freehold or leasehold sale of the Ricoh, rather than expecting the club to return as tenants. The campaign is led by long-standing Coventry City fans Stuart Cosgrove and Rob Stevens. Stuart Cosgrove said: "We have been invited to speak at the council leader's cabinet member meeting, where we will be calling on the council to commission an independent survey into the damage to the city's economy and to taxpayers of losing our great football club (a) temporarily and (b) permanently. "The club ought to be a great economic asset for the city. We believe the damage to Coventry businesses, the city's economy and the taxpayer of losing the football club would far outweigh any initial losses to the taxpayer of selling the stadium, which was built for the club. "Our petition also called on councillors to explain the business case for the part-council owned company Arena Coventry Limited continuing to run the stadium without the club it was built for. We challenge Ann Lucas's claim that ACL can be 'very profitable' without the club." The petition states many fans believe whoever owns the club should own the stadium to "maximise crucial club revenues" – and that selling the stadium could represent the best prospect of current owners Sisu ultimately selling the club. The independent Get Cov Back To The Ricoh campaign will criticise a council officer's document to Councillor Lucas's meeting – on the publicly available agenda – for failing to fairly sum up the petition's contents. The document (see link below in Notes To Editors) makes a formal recommendation to Councillor Lucas to "support the general aim" of a Ricoh return and achieving the best outcome for taxpayers. The document also states that Councillor Lucas had recently publicly made clear all options were up for discussion with the club's owners Sisu, including stadium ownership. Yet it goes on to state the council in its role as ACL shareholder has sought a rental agreement. It adds: "The city council also supports these actions." Mr Cosgrove said: "It is not clear how such a statement can be made, as the full council has not had a formal vote to establish the council's position. "We are disappointed that Coventry City Council executives Martin Reeves and Chris West, who are also directors of part-council owned Arena Coventry Limited, still expect the Sky Blues to return to the Ricoh Arena as tenants. "The landlord/tenant arrangement is the same broken relationship that has been such a financial stranglehold on the Sky Blues since before Sisu took over in 2007. This same landlord/tenant broken relationship has badly failed the club, the taxpayer and the city – as the city has now lost its proud football club. "It is particularly disappointing given the increased optimism among fans since private talks started three weeks ago between council leader Ann Lucas and the Sky Blues' Sisu owners chief executive Joy Seppala. "Councillor Ann Lucas's recent statements – including in the council chamber on October 22 – had claimed she and the council were willing to move on from past disputes, and were open to discussions over a Ricoh Arena sale sought by the club (see Notes To Editors below)." "Were the club to accept a rent deal, we would welcome the temporary return to the Ricoh as an alternative to ground sharing at Northampton. But we would not expect that to happen, and it is no solution. "It is now more than three months since the council/ACL lost its costly legal action designed to force a change of ownership at our club, in a dispute which cost the team 20 League points. "We again urge both sides to commit themselves to talks over stadium revenues and ownership as a matter of urgency, with any sale talks based on independent valuations."
