Coventry City agree Ricoh Arena return, University of Warwick stadium partnership continues

Coventry City FC will return to the Ricoh Arena from the start of the 2021/22 season, ending the Championship side’s two-year stint at St. Andrew’s Stadium.

Wasps Group and Coventry City have signed a 10-year license agreement, allowing the Sky Blues to play their home fixtures at the Arena until 2031.

Last July, Coventry City and the University of Warwick entered a partnership that would see the Sky Blues build a new stadium on land currently owned by the University. In response to today’s announcement, a University spokesperson said:

“News of the agreement for Coventry City Football Club to return to Coventry at the Ricoh Arena is great news for the supporters, the community and the city of Coventry  as a whole, and of course the Football Club.

“Coventry City Football Club and the University of Warwick are actively continuing their discussions regarding a long-term collaboration to provide a new home for the Sky Blues.

“Those discussions are progressing positively and further details will be announced when both the club and the University are able to do so.”

Coventry City chief executive Dave Boddy has hailed the announcement and thanked West Midlands Mayor Andy Street for his role in brokering the deal.

This is fantastic news for the club, our community and most importantly the supporters.

– Dave Boddy

“We are thrilled to announce that the agreement for Coventry City to return to the city of Coventry and to the Ricoh Arena was signed in the last 24 hours,” Boddy said in a club statement. “This is fantastic news for the club, our community and most importantly the supporters.

“We look forward to building a positive and co-operative relationship with Wasps Group over the term of this agreement, the length of which allows us stability as a club as we look to continue our progress on and off the field.”

The Sky Blues have been forced to leave the Ricoh Arena twice since it opened in 2005, with Coventry spending the 2012/13 season in Northampton.

“We can’t wait for fans to return to the Ricoh Arena,” Boddy continued. “There is much work to do and planning has already started, but we ask that fans bear with us as we put in place what we need to for our return before we communicate further information. We know that the day that our fans are able to come back and watch their team in Coventry is one that they will be already looking forward to.”

Stephen Vaughn, the chief executive of Wasps, called the announcement “great news for the city.”

“It is time to put the past firmly behind us,” Vaughn admitted. “There has been a massive amount of work going on behind the scenes to get us to this point as both organisations felt it was very important that we agreed a long-term deal to bring certainty and continuity, which would in turn allow us to build even stronger futures.”