First plans for Coventry City Football Club's new stadium can now be revealed
The first plans for Coventry City Football Club’s new stadium have been revealed.
The plans have been developed by leading sports stadia architects AFLS+P, which has worked on new grounds for the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion and Rotherham United, as well as with European giants such as Chelsea and Barcelona.
The ground will be built in modular phases so that the club can move in as soon as possible but then could be expanded in stages.
The initial phase will create a 12,500-seater stadium which will ultimately rise to potentially 23,000-seats.
The Sky Blues are now working with property consultancy CBRE to secure their preferred site for the new ground.
Tim Fisher, chief executive of Coventry City Football Club, said: “We are very pleased and excited to be able to share these initial images with supporters as, ultimately, we want this to be a home the fans can be proud of.
“A great deal of time, effort and investment has gone into bringing the plans to this stage and it has been a real team effort to develop the technical aspects of the stadium.
“We’ve come a long, long way in a very short space of time as we only reconstituted the club in August and are now announcing our plans for the new stadium.
“I understand that the key question on everybody’s lips is: where is it going to be? We are working very hard with CBRE to purchase our preferred site and we will, of course, keep supporters informed when that happens.
“At that stage, we can then start to plot a timeline of applying for permission, time it takes to build and when we could open.
“There is still a huge amount of effort required and I would urge supporters to make full use of the Stadium Forum that has been set up because that way their views can help to shape the thinking of how we make this a home for the club and its fans.”
Steve Waggott, Coventry City’s development director, said stadium ownership was vital to the future of the club.
He said: “There are several ingredients for creating a sustainable and successful club and owning your own ground is one of the main ingredients.
“A football club needs to squeeze every penny it possibly can out of its stadium both on matchdays and non matchdays in order to be able to invest on the pitch.
“Owning our own stadium as well as investing in our Academy and youth development are the key to the long-term future of the club.
“Of course, the first team is the day-to-day priority because what they do in 90 minutes determines our next 90 hours of business.
“But this is about the long term sustainability of the club and is also about creating a home for the supporters of Coventry City Football Club.
“You only have to look elsewhere in football to see that this the only model for clubs moving forward.
“Rotherham have just moved to a stadium they own, Brentford are doing likewise because they see how the non-matchday revenues can be invested to give them the best possible chance of becoming a Championship club – and then staying there.
“It’s about so much more than just a football stadium that is used 25 times a year, it’s about creating a place that generates activity and income and becomes a facility for the whole community.
“The value to the community should not be underestimated and we intend for this to be a real hub for local area.”