Hint dropped where City might play next season

COVENTRY City’s future has never seemed so uncertain - despite the Sky Blues now flirting with the play-offs.

The 136-year-old football club has less than six weeks until it is potentially expelled from the English Football League (EFL).

The team will be homeless at the end of the season as their rent deal at the Ricoh expires, with the stadium’s owners Wasps refusing to hold talks on a new contract until ongoing legal action by the club’s owners is dropped.

The club’s bosses have always said they want to stay on at the Ricoh and that it is best for the players and fans.

But lately talk has turned to other options which are being explored by the club.

Another groundshare, like the one that saw the team relocate to Sixfields in Northampton in 2013/14, is not high on the list of fans’ wishes.

And until now, club bosses have said the EFL will only allow them to play within six miles of Coventry, giving them very limited options indeed.

But David Boddy’s latest comments appear to show some leeway is expected.

He told the Telegraph’s sister newspaper The Mirror: “It would be naive of us not to look at other options because the time is ticking away.

“We have to be prudent and we are talking to one or two people at the moment.

“The survival of the club is the most important thing.

“I believe that the EFL have said we have to be within six miles but if it is marginally outside of that perimeter then so be it.”

The Telegraph has explored some of the options that could be considered “marginally outside” the six-mile radius below to try and find the club’s new home - and asked if discussions had been taking place.

We took a six-mile radius starting from the Council House in Earl Street in Coventry city centre.

The only stadiums that fall within six miles of that point are the Ricoh, Butts Park Arena and The Oval, in Bedworth.

The Ricoh Arena deadlock looks set to continue, despite Coventry City owners Sisu saying they would be prepared to drop the legal action if Wasps extended a deal and the council supported them building a new stadium in Coventry.

The Supreme Court is yet to rule on whether they will allow an appeal of the previously turneddown calls for a judicial review into the sale of the stadium to Wasps in 2014.

The stadium boasts a capacity of 32,609.

This year (2017-18 season) 9,225 fans on average have turned out to watch each match.

More than just a football stadium, the Ricoh Arena has played host to some of the world’s biggest music acts including Oasis, Bruce Springsteen and The Rolling Stones.

It also has The Erricson Exhibition Hall and its own hotel.

Butts Park Arena: It’s unlikely Coventry City will be moving to Butts Park.

Talks were first touted over a groundshare there back in May 2016 but by the next year, Jon Sharp, chairman of Coventry Rugby, said he would “not deal with SISU”.

Later, Mr Sharp any chance of Coventry City playing there was quashed by the cost of roadworks needed to turn the ground into a 25,000-seater stadium to house both clubs.

The rugby club instead said it was moving ahead with a 12,000-seater stadium plan.

The Oval: Between 1911 and 1939 the club played at the British Queen Ground, after which they moved to theOval on Coventry Road.

It is almost ten times smaller than the Ricoh, with a capacity of 3,000.

Around 300 spaces are seated and covered.

The Telegraph has yet to receive an answer from Bedworth United as to whether they have been approached by Coventry City over the possibility of a groundshare.

There would need to be significant improvements to the site to host league football.

If you stretch the boundary a little further, to what some might consider as “marginally outside” the six-mile circle, a few other options start to come into play.

They are Rugby Town’s Butlin Road ground, Leamington’s New Windmill Ground, Nuneaton Borough’s Liberty Way and Solihull Moors’ Damson Park. They would all need to be upgraded to host the Sky Blues in the EFL.

The Telegraph contacted each club to see if there had been any approach or talks with Coventry City about a potential groundshare next season.

The simple answer from all was there had been no approach or discussions about a future groundshare.

Butlin Road: Rugby Town’s home would be a little small for a club the size of Coventry.

The ground holds around 6,000, with around half of those spaces under cover and 740 seats.

Under the main stand you’ll find four changing rooms, referees’ room, male, female and disabled toilets and a physio room.

On the pitch, a lot of time and expense has been put into the turf over the last few years, including drainage technology to ensure the best possible standard (for part-time staff ).

Butlin Road also has its own training facilities, including a full-size and a mini-sized third-generation rubber crumb astro turf training pitch with floodlights. New Windmill

Ground: Leamington’s ground currently has a capacity of 2,300, of which 294 is seated and 720 under cover - far too small for Coventry’s current crowds.

The ground is situated in the Warwickshire countryside, a couple of miles outside of Leamington itself.

There are floodlights and an electronic scoreboard.

The club has plans to move to a community stadium, which will be built on land next to Europa Way and Gallows Hill in the south of the town.

The plans will see the construction of a 5,000 capacity stadium with a 3G artificial pitch, conference facilities, a gym, bar and cafe.

Liberty Way: Nuneaton’s Liberty Way ground has previously been ruled out as a groundshare for Coventry City by the site’s owner Norman Smurthwaite, who also owns Port Vale.

If they did end up there, they’d be playing to maximum crowds of around 4,500 people.

The ground has around 500 seats and a grass floodlit pitch.

The stadium has been home to Nuneaton Borough since 2007, after spending 90 years at their former Manor Park home.

Solihull Moors: Damson Park is even smaller with a 3,050 capacity, and 280 seats. The ground has two seated stands on either side of the pitch, and a covered stand of mixed seating and terracing at the southeastern end of the ground, where all six entrances are located. The Shed stand also hosts a tuck shop for snacks. The ground was packed to capacity for the visit of League One Blackpool in the FA Cup second round earlier this season.

And further afield...We have also asked at clubs further afield after being told there were no talks ongoing with those listed above. They may stretch the definition of “marginally outside” the sixmile limit a bit, but we’re nothing if not thorough.

Walsall have confirmed that there have been no talks there, and we also understand Stadium MK, the home of MK Dons, is also not in the picture.