Coventry City make ‘significant progress’ towards campus stadium plans

Coventry City F.C. and the University of Warwick released a second joint-statement last week, outlining plans for the Sky Blues to build a new stadium on land currently owned by the University.

It was announced in July that the parties had entered a preliminary partnership that would see the University provide land from its “agricultural field area” to support the Championship side’s plan to build a new arena.

The original statement revealed that the Sky Blues “will own and be entirely responsible for the cost of the stadium,” although it did not disclose information regarding the exact locations of the proposed sites.

Last week, a second joint-statement was issued, in which it was announced that “significant progress” had been made.

“Work between the Football Club, its owners and the University of Warwick has been ongoing since the announcement of the project in July, with a number of meetings both between the organisations and with external parties having taken place and much work going on behind-the-scenes, with the aim of developing a new home for the Sky Blues,” said a joint-statement.

“In the first week of November the leadership of the University of Warwick, and the owners and management of Coventry City Football Club, held a further productive and very positive formal meeting to assess the progress to date of a partnership which would see the University provide agricultural land on the edge of its main campus to the Club for the development of a visionary and environmentally friendly new stadium and centre of sporting excellence.”

According to the statement, the English Football League (EFL) has been notified of the “positive steps that have been made” by the Club and University.

Further details will not be released at this stage, although a third joint-statement is expected to be made in early 2021.

This football club needs to be in the middle of its community and we’re not

– Tim Fisher

When asked about the Sky Blues’ stadium plans in 2019, Tim Fisher, the chairman of Coventry City, said: “We are a community asset and this football club needs to be in the middle of its community and we’re not.

“I can tell you we are trying our best. We want to play in Coventry. We do not want to play in Birmingham and, as I say, we remain hopeful.”

The development would see the Sky Blues to own their home stadium for the first time since leaving Highfield Road in 2005. Reports suggest the Championship outfit hope to build a 20,000-seat capacity arena, while using “environmentally-friendly” building practises.

Coventry City sit 21^st in the Championship, having won two of their opening 11 fixtures in the second division. The Sky Blues are currently hosting home fixtures at St. Andrew’s Stadium in Birmingham after departing the Ricoh Arena due to a dispute with the stadium’s owners in 2018.