Countdown to Homelessness - 15 Games to Go

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Published: 24 October 2017

“Trust’s Letter To CCFC Chairman”

 

Dear Mr Fisher

 

Following the match against Colchester United on Saturday, Coventry City now have only 15 League Two matches scheduled to be played at the Ricoh Arena before the end of the current season.  As you know, the agreement which allows such games to be played at the Arena expires at the end of the season.

 

Coventry City are therefore just 15 games away from homelessness.

 

Unless a suitable home ground, which meets all the relevant standards, can be secured before the start of the 2018/19 season, Coventry City may cease to exist.

 

Please can you tell me what steps you are taking to secure a suitable home ground for Coventry City beyond the end of the current season? It seems that the continuing legal action by Otium Entertainment Group Ltd and others against Coventry City Council and Wasps is impeding the resumption of meaningful negotiations with Wasps over use of the Ricoh for next season and beyond. Given the threat of homelessness, will Otium be considering whether to abandon the court action, thereby paving the way for the Club's continued existence in Coventry?

 

You have suggested that a tenancy at Butts Park Arena (BPA) is an option for the football club to play its games from next season. Is that still the case? Is it your preferred option or simply an alternative if the Ricoh is not available to you? When can we expect to see a formal proposal for BPA? How will that tackle the potential obstacles such as planning, traffic, parking, residents’ concerns etc? In your opinion, could such a development be completed before the start of the 2018/19 football season in August 2018?

 

As Coventry City supporters are increasingly alarmed about the growing urgency of this matter, please could I have your response before the next home League Two game is played, against Mansfield Town on Saturday 11 November 2017?

 

Yours sincerely

Roger Ellis

Secretary, the Sky Blue Trust

 

 

 

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Dave Boddy and "Fan Engagement"

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Published: 20 October 2017

“During 2016, the English Football League agreed new rules requiring Clubs to meet requirements for supporter engagement. Before those rules were agreed, Coventry City FC had a Supporters Consultative Group (SCG) which, in recent years, had become unrepresentative of Sky Blue fans generally and seriously dysfunctional in the way it operated. The Club’s response to the new EFL rules was to abolish the SCG and put nothing in its place.

 

"We read that the Club CEO, Dave Boddy, is now working on plans for a replacement to the disbanded SCG. We welcome Mr Boddy’s good intentions regarding communication with supporters. The Sky Blue Trust have offered to assist with that but have had no response to that offer. We will be interested to see how Mr Boddy proposes to ensure that any new group complies with the EFL Regulations, which require supporter representatives to "be elected, selected or invited in line with basic democratic principles.”  An approach to supporter engagement, which to date appears to involve discussion with no-one but the former SCG chair, does not instil confidence that the process will demonstrate the required application of “basic democratic principles”.

 

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