Ricoh return is ‘good news at a time we need it’ says council leader
CONFIRMATION of Coventry City’s return to the Ricoh Arena after exile in Birmingham is “good news at a time when we desperately need it” said the leader of Coventry City Council.
The football club and Wasps Group announced they have agreed a new deal for the Sky Blues to return to the Ricoh, signing a 10-year license.
Reacting to the news, Coventry City Council leader Cllr George Duggins said: “It is brilliant news for the city and I am pleased it has been confirmed.
“We had the speculation last week that this was going to happen but for the supporters and the city this is the confirmation that people were waiting for.
“It is good news at a time when we desperately need it.
“It will be interesting to see how the season pans out and then next year it will be very interesting to see where the club can go.”
Coventry City, who are currently 20th in the Championship and six points from safety, will continue to play matches at St Andrew’s Stadium in Birmingham for the remainder of the 2020/21 campaign.
But the new deal will bring them back to the Ricoh for the start of the 2021/22 season.
It is hoped fans will be allowed in stadiums for sporting events next season, with the government’s roadmap out of lockdown ending on June 21.
A series of pilot events will run in April with the English Football League for some fans to return, and if successful up to 10,000 people or 25% of total seated capacity - whichever is lower will be allowed in stadiums from May 17.
While that does present optimism for fans to return next season, England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty warned there could be another surge of Covid cases if restrictions are eased too early - an issue Cllr Duggins is cautious of.
Speaking on when fans could return to the Ricoh, he said: “What we do have is a roadmap out of lockdown which potentially ends on June 21. What Chris Whitty was saying was pretty clear that if we unlock too early we could go back to square one and some of those dates going back so it is not set in stone.
“The schools have just gone back and quite rightly but we do know the numbers for schools before were quite high and higher than some of the areas yet to open, so it is a case of watch this space. We will have to see what impact the schools reopening will have in the next few weeks and whether that impacts on June 21.”
However Cllr Duggins believes the Sky Blues back in the city is one of a number of things to look forward to in Coventry post-covid, and can play its part in boosting the economy.
He said: “We are looking at postcovid and one of the things we have tried to do as a council is combat the impact of Covid.
“Over the past few years we have had a number of things with the City of Culture announcement and we were quite rightly European City of Sport.
“We are now going to be City of Culture, have the Commonwealth Games and the Rugby League World Cup so there is lots to look forward to and Coventry is clearly on the map, so getting the football club back adds to that really good news.”