First look at new sports bar at Ricoh Arena

THIS is how a new sports bar that is set to open in Coventry this spring will look.

The seven-day-a-week venue is currently under construction by the main entrance of the Ricoh Arena.

Fencing was erected beside the Jimmy Hill statue at the venue in recent weeks with skips placed near to the Wasps Rugby club shop - which is being relocated to the south side of the ground.

We revealed recently that work had already begun on the 400sq metre bar that is set to open this spring.

It will boast a number of widescreen TVS as well as interactive games including shuffleboard and table football. It will also be able to cater for 160 covers at a time once Covid-19 restrictions permit.

Ricoh Arena’s catering partner, Delaware North, is funding a significant portion of the seven-figure investment in the bar, alongside investment from the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP), which has been made via an allocation of funding as part of the Government’s Getting Building Fund, and from the Government’s Local Growth Fund and Growing Places Fund.

The CWLEP funding will also be supporting the development of a new pavilion and launch of a Commonwealth Convention Centre at the Ricoh Arena.

The sports bar will be a welcome boost to the area which, in recent years, has seen the nearby Frankie and Benny’s and Chiquito Mexican restaurants close at the Arena Shopping Park.

Midlands firms supporting the bar project include Coventry-based project and cost management firm IDP, Birmingham-based engineering consultants Clancy Consulting,

interior design company Harrison, and construction works are being undertaken by Coalville-based refurbishment company The Ideal Group.