After each matchday programme this season, we publish the regular column from the Coventry City board on our website. You can read Coventry City Chief Executive Dave Boddy's column our pre-season game against Wolves below:
Good afternoon and welcome back to the Coventry Building Society Arena.
I am delighted to welcome back Sky Blues supporters to the Arena as we make our long-awaited return to Coventry.
I would also like to welcome the officials, players, staff and supporters who join us from Wolverhampton Wanderers for this afternoon’s pre-season friendly fixture.
A huge amount of work has gone into our preparations for today’s game and the season ahead, and I would like to thank all of the staff at the Football Club for their efforts and also the staff at Wasps and the Coventry Building Society Arena too.
Moving back to Coventry would be a huge amount of work in itself, but with the impact of COVID and changing restrictions it has become an even bigger job. Please bear with us as we work to get everything ready for the season ahead.
It has been a long time since we have welcomed back supporters to a home game and we can’t wait to see you all again. It is important that we do this in a safe manner, so we are encouraging supporters to continue to wear face masks for the health and safety of their fellow fans around the stadium, but especially when moving around the concourses and the lounges.
Fans will have noticed that we have asked you not to interact with players on a matchday at the moment, in terms of selfies, photos and autographs. You will have also seen the re-opening of the Family Zone has been delayed too.
All of the decisions we are currently making regarding COVID are we hope and believe in the best interests of the health and safety of supporters, players, staff and volunteers, and hopefully will be only short-term ones.
Sales of Ricoh Return Memberships and then Season Tickets have been tremendous and as I write we are approaching sales of 10,000. For context, this is the highest since 2009 and higher than all but 1 year out of the last 52 years. It really is incredible and shows the appetite that there is to support the Football Club and the team on our return to the City. They are still available and offer the cheapest way to watch the Sky Blues during this Championship season, so I would encourage anyone who hasn’t yet to buy theirs before next week.
During the pandemic we have sadly lost a number of supporters and we think of them today, and will be remembering them both today and next week against Nottingham Forest. We will also be paying tribute to George Curtis, who sadly passed away in July, at our match next week. George was true Coventry City legend who had a huge impact at the Club both on and off the pitch, and our thoughts are with his family and friends.
Finally, I would like to thank our fans for their loyal support. This day has been a long time coming for you, both in terms of a return to Coventry and a return to football. I hope that you all enjoy your day.
PUSB
Dave