Arena Coventry Limited (ACL, the company that runs The Ricoh Arena have refuted claims made by club shareholder and former director Leonard Brody that the club are paying three times the going rate for the rent of the stadium.
Yesterday Brody claimed that the club are paying £1.2m a year in rent saying the cost was unsustainable and causing the club extra financial hardship and as a shareholder he would continue to work to get the costs reduced.
David Allvey, who is the chairman of Arena Coventry Ltd, said, “I was very surprised to read Mr Brody’s statement concerning the club’s rent. This was unexpected because we obviously have ongoing discussions with the football club both on a day-to-day basis and at a strategic level.
“Unfortunately there are some inaccuracies in Mr Brody’s statement. We would like to provide some clarification regarding the points he makes.
“The rent levels are actually comparable with other clubs that don’t own their stadiums. The club’s annual stadium running costs today are the same as they were ten years ago at Highfield Road. As a cost line within the club’s accounts, rent is around seven per cent of their total cost base.
“It would appear that the most important factor in the Club’s future success is a clear strategy to re-engage the fans and drive up attendances.
“ACL has always been and remains fully committed to supporting the hard working operational team at the club to achieve this.”
After Brody's comments were made public yesterday, the board of directors of Coventry City FC moved to distance themselves from his remarks and issued a club statement which read, “The board of Coventry City Football Club note the interview published in the local media with former director Leonard Brody.
"Mr Brody speaks as an independent minority shareholder and not as the voice of the board. The club recognises that the Ricoh Arena is an important amenity for the city of Coventry.
"While it is true that the club does pay a substantial annual rent, the board are committed to finding a longer-term ownership solution for the Ricoh Arena which best serves the interests of all its stakeholders.
“As previously stated by our chairman, the board are working to prove to the Arena’s stakeholders that we have both the financial ability and management capability to drive the business forward.
“We believe that by all sides supporting each other, a longer-term solution can be realised that benefits both the club and the wider community.”