Coventry City can confirm that Wednesday’s Carabao Cup game against Bristol City will not take place at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
The match will now be played at Burton Albion’s Pirelli Stadium. Kick-off on Wednesday 10th August will be at 7:45pm.
The pitch at the Arena was deemed unplayable and unsafe on Saturday and it has been decided, following discussions with the Arena today, that there will not be sufficient improvement of the playing surface for the game to be played on Wednesday at the Arena.
We are unable to reverse the fixture and want to play the game to ensure our participation in the competition, so Coventry City put in place an agreement for this game to be played elsewhere.
Coventry City will play at the Pirelli Stadium for one game only, and we hope that this means that the Arena and Wasps will have time to make the required improvements to the pitch by our next home league game on Tuesday 16th August against Wigan Athletic.
The Club explored other options, including EFL and non-league clubs locally as well as reversing the fixture, but this was not possible and we thank Burton Albion for their support in enabling us to fulfil the fixture.
We will communicate information regarding tickets and matchday arrangements for the game shortly, as well as refunds for fans who wish not to attend.
Dave Boddy, Coventry City Chief Executive, said speaking about having to play away from the Arena said:
“It is with regret we have had to do this, but there was no way that it can be guaranteed the pitch could be playable or safe on Wednesday and it was important this decision was taken sooner rather than later.
“Over the weekend, we have seen questions from fans about the situation and about why we did not ask for our first two games to be played away, but this was not possible under EFL fixture sequencing rules which apply equally to all Clubs.
“Regardless, this does not change the fact that the pitch at the Arena is not currently playable or safe for our games last Sunday or this Wednesday.
“Following the usage at the Commonwealth Games, our first opportunity to survey the pitch in person was on Thursday due to the stadium lockdown, at which point we put the wheels in motion with the EFL and with the Arena to address this issue.
“We are in dialogue with the Arena about the situation regarding the pitch and will keep fans updated as soon as we are able to regarding the pitch.”
Speaking about playing at Burton Albion's Pirelli Stadium, Boddy added:
"We are grateful to Ben Robinson and Burton Albion for their assistance in helping us to fulfil this fixture.
“It is vital for us that we fulfil our obligations to take part in the Carabao Cup, and for the team to get back to playing games.
“We appreciate this will be more upheaval for supporters and I’m sure they will understand this is beyond our control.
“We will be communicating shortly regarding ticket information for the match on Wednesday, as well as details for fans who had bought a ticket for the game to be played at the Coventry Building Society Arena but are no longer able to attend or no longer wish to.”