As Expected - The Arena Will Be Late Opening

"Following the news that the Arena will not be ready to stage a game until August 20, Coventry City Football Club can reveal its plans for the start of the 2005/2006 season. Although the situation is far from ideal, the Club has had a contingency plan in operation for some time and is hopeful that the delayed opening of the Arena will cause minimal disruption for Micky Adams, his squad and the Coventry City supporters.

Originally an application was lodged to play the first match of the season at home, with that fixture then postponed as necessary. Coventry City's next two fixtures would then fall away from home meaning the first game to be played at the Arena would be on August 20. However, the Football League did not view this application favourably and now the Club has applied for their first three matches to be played away from home. This application will be considered by the Football League Board of Directors on Wednesday June 8.

Sky Blues Chairman Mike McGinnity has issued the following statement: "It is regrettable that the Arena will not be open in time for the start of the season but we have made back-up plans and we hope the Football League will look favourably on our application. "As anchor tenants, the construction of the stadium is out of our hands and I hope our supporters understand the situation we are in and also that we are trying to resolve this issue as best we can."

Coventry City Council have issued the following statement:
"Coventry's stunning new Arena will open for business on 20 August.
The £113million stadium will be open for its first home match in August following the completion of the massive project which began in December 2003, just 19 days behind schedule.

The Arena is part of the Council and its partners' project to transform the north east of the city. Project partners, including Coventry City Council, Coventry City Football Club and Arena Coventry Limited have now ironed out final details on the handover of the multi-purpose venue and Arena Coventry Limited (ACL) who will manage the Arena are already taking bookings for a range of conferences, exhibitions, events and preparing for the spectacle of the Sky Blues first home game at the 32,000 capacity stadium.

Council Leader Ken Taylor said: "This has been a massive undertaking, creating hundreds of local jobs and capturing the enthusiasm of the people right across the city. Now we can set our sights on the finishing line. "We've got a firm date for the first match at the new Arena and we're now looking at ways of making sure local people have the chance to get an early look at the stadium for themselves. Watching the stadium take shape over the months has been quite an experience - it's been a massive and complex feat of engineering and the end result is a venue that we can all be very proud of."

Richard Pike, Project Manager Leader at Laing O'Rourke, which has been building the stadium said: "Although massive building projects are our business, we have had particular challenges during the building of the Arena, including bad weather last summer and a fire at the site earlier this year. However we've worked hard to keep delays to a minimum and are now looking forward to seeing the completed stadium host its first game in August."Councillors are set to approve the opening date at a cabinet meeting on 7 June."