Tue, 12 Mar 2013 | ADMINISTRATION
An ongoing row between Coventry City FC and the owners of its Ricoh Arena stadium is pushing the club closer and closer to administration.
Sisu and Arena Coventry Ltd (ACL), the respective owners of the club and the stadium, have been stuck in an ongoing battle over rent and matchday revenue from the football ground.
At the moment, ACL currently retains the matchday revenue from Coventry games at the Ricoh, but the football club is keen to sign a deal to switch this around. Meanwhile, ACL is willing to agree an annual rent reduction from £1.3 million to £400,000.
If a settlement that takes into account the wishes of both sides cannot be found soon, then there is a very real chance that the club will enter administration. Tim Fisher, chief executive of the club, commented: “ACL have been robust in their external statements that they are not in negotiations with us anymore and that negotiations have stopped. We are at a tipping point and insolvent liquidation cannot be reasonably avoided.”
He added that Coventry “entered the twilight zone on 22 February” when ACL first confirmed that negotiations were at a halt. The club needs to reassure its lawyers that negotiations are going somewhere and that a solution will be found.
ACL is asserting that its offer is reasonable, but Mr Fisher has stated that the fact that the club does not retain its matchday revenues makes it unusual in the football world. He said: “We just want to be like a normal football club. A normal football club keeps all the revenues it generates on matchday. That is catering, beverages and parking revenue.
“When somebody puts a gun in your mouth, it is no longer a negotiation, it's an execution. You either accept the deal or get out of town. The council have gone on record and said 'get out of town'. We may have to take that invitation.”
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