The Supporters' Consultative Group (SCG) meeting scheduled for this week was postponed due to difficulties over both individual availability and venue.
Tim Fisher offered to speak to the various SCG members to give them an update on the current situation, next steps and likely timelines. Coventry City London Supporters Club Rep Ian Davidson took up that offer and had a telephone conversation with Tim Fisher on Tuesday 22 July.
Below are notes of that conversation. They are not verbatim and should not be read as such.
- Current status –
- ACL were adamant it should be paid a figure of £590k;
- CCFC had deposited funds in excess of those due with the Football League;
- CCFC have submitted a copy of its short term/interim Ricoh proposal to the FL. I asked why this had not been sent to ACL? ACL had made it clear that they had no desire to engage in discussions about a return to the Ricoh until both the £590 had been received and the legal appeal had been dropped. However, by sending the proposed terms to the FL, TF said that this showed goodwill in trying to create a route back to the Ricoh. This also ensured that the supporters had knowledge, insight and transparency as to the various challenges faced by the club;
- Was the proposal for a permanent or interim move? It was an interim deal and TF explained the rent proposal would be benchmarked against the division we were playing in; it was on the basis of 23 days per annum with cup games paid for on a match by match basis. CCFC would pay, as previously, all the match day costs (stewards, police, etc);
- The Club was not seeking anything which is not related to match day revenues. Only that turnover directly related to a match being played at the Ricoh. TF added, that today, CCFC is the only football league club which does not have access to match day revenues beyond ticketing;
- As such, the Club wanted car parking revenues as those using the car parks were attending the match, all in-bowl commercial revenues such as advertising etc on match days. Previously, the Club only received a fraction;
- The issue re Compass on F&B was for ACL to resolve as the club is not a counterparty in the contracts struck between ACL and Compass, but TF believed it was reasonable for the club to have access to F&B generated by its supporters on the days the Club was renting the stadium.
- The proposal was seeking a carve out based on 23/365 days from ACL when they rented the stadium
- Timeline – a lot of work would need to be done to prepare for a return to the Ricoh e.g. is the pitch ready and the Safety Advisory Group would need to be engaged on the stadium. TF quoted that FL rules do not allow for a change of ground mid season but he recognised that the FL rules are discretionary and exceptions can be made. He felt that we were running out of time to get a deal done. TF said he couldn’t influence the timing of the FL Board meeting scheduled for 7 August (to determine the amount to be paid) but considered that the politics -“the will of local people and local tax payers” ” might play a part with CCC , as the creditor-lender, positively encouraging both ACL and Higgs and thereby answering the question everyone is asking – which is just how much does the Council want its club to play back in the community. TF felt this was about reconciliation, healing and goodwill.
- Probability – I asked what the probability of a return to the Ricoh was this season. TF said if it was the will to do a deal then it was 100%/0% but skewed logic and local politics meant that the likelihood of achievement reduced to say 70%/30%.
The call finished with TF saying that the club was pushing as hard as they could, but it will take effort and will from all parties to achieve this goal.