Coventry Rugby Club Chair Jon Sharp revealed plans "have been drawn to expand the stadium and clear the way for Coventry City to move to Butts Park Arena," according to Simon Gilbert of the COVENTRY TELEGRAPH. Sharp said that architects had "produced stadium designs which could see the existing ground expanded to between 15,000 and 25,000 seats." He said that discussions had taken place "since the start of the year and insisted the plans to unite the two clubs at The Butts were being considered seriously." However, he underlined that "they were far from a certainty at this stage." Funding for the project would be "provided by forming a joint property company with the football club and ongoing revenue would be secured by the two organisations forming an events company to handle the day to day running of the stadium." A student accommodation development "would be used to provide a big chunk of the required finance, but there could also be the possibility for a retail outlet." Sharp also said that contributions "would be provided by the rugby club, the football club and any other partners which could come on board along the way" (COVENTRY TELEGRAPH, 5/19). In a separate piece, Gilbert reported the new leader of Coventry City Council has "called on the owners of Coventry City to stop legal action before discussions regarding a possible ground share with Coventry Rugby Club can start." The council owns the freehold at Butts Park Arena and "could have the final say on whether the rugby club’s lease could allow the Sky Blues to play there in an expanded stadium." But the council’s relationship with the club’s owners is "largely conducted through lawyers, with Sisu losing the latest instalment of the Judicial Review into the council’s Ricoh Arena loan deal at the Court of Appeal." Count George Duggins said, "I have no comment whatsoever to make on what business the two clubs are doing together. What I will say is that there has to be an end to the legal actions. All judicial reviews have got to go and all costs have got to be paid. That will be a pre-requisite for opening up any sort of dialogue." Ward Councillor Damian Gannon said that the proposal could provide an opportunity to "press the reset button" on the council’s relationship with the club. He said, "It would seem churlish for the council to reject such a proposal out-of-hand particularly as a move closer to the city center so obviously fits in with what we have been trying to achieve over the past few years in terms of growing the city center" (COVENTRY TELEGRAPH, 5/18).
NOT BIG ENOUGH: In another piece, Gilbert wrote Coventry City's largest supporters' group said that it "would rather the club's owners focused on securing a long-term deal at the Ricoh Arena than groundshare plans at Butts Park Arena." The Sky Blue Trust, which has almost 3,000 members, has "urged CCFC owners Sisu to concentrate on securing a better deal with Ricoh landlords Wasps -- pointing to concerns over moving the club to a smaller stadium." The organization said that it also recognized "the appeal of a stadium in a central location and welcomed the discussions." A Sky Blue Trust statement said, "Our view remains that the club’s focus should be on negotiations with the owners of the Ricoh for a long-term deal there, incorporating a substantially greater share of stadium income for Coventry City FC" (COVENTRY TELEGRAPH, 5/19).
PUT THEM ON THE MAP: In Coventry, Paul Smith reported Coventry Rugby, Wasps and rugby league team Coventry Bears have recently launched the City of Rugby initiative at home matches "where the project was introduced to thousands of fans." The initiative, coordinated by Engage!, "brings together a range of interested parties with the objective of developing both rugby codes within Coventry." Its key mission is to coordinate rugby development activities and "provide top-level direction to those involved with the sport" (COVENTRY TELEGRAPH, 5/18).
