League Championship club Coventry City has "threatened to pull out" of the Ricoh Arena altogether if a row with its landlords over unpaid rent is not settled, according to Neil Moxley of the London DAILY MAIL. The Sky Blues have been "issued with a statutory demand" to pay arrears by Arena Coventry Ltd. and "could be wound up on Boxing Day if no agreement is reached." A stand-off "has ensured between the two parties" over an annual £1.28M ($2.06M) levy, which Coventry City says it cannot afford. ACL claimed it is owed £1.6M ($2.6M) in total. Should the club fail to meet the deadline, it would have to declare itself "insolvent and face closure" (DAILY MAIL, 12/5). The COVENTRY TELEGRAPH reported the club said that it is "disappointed" and is "looking for a new home ground where it can afford to play, a moot point given it could be out of business shortly after Christmas." The ACL statement said: "The board feels that all other avenues to resolve this issue have been exhausted and is astonished that the club’s owners have allowed matters to come to this sorry pass." The Sky Blues said that "they need a stake in the stadium to help the loss-making club break even." Coventry City said in a statement: "While we have been seeking to normalise the rent, we have continued to pay matchday costs to ensure that ACL is not left out-of-pocket." ACL is adamant the stadium business is healthy, but has "refused to deny that Yorkshire Bank has sent in consultants to look at restructuring the firm" (COVENTRY TELEGRAPH, 12/5).
