Coventry City Football Club (Holdings) LTD, the part of the club that is not in administration, have appointed a Los Angeles based global property company, CBRE, to advise and help them find and purchase a suitable piece of land in or near Coventry on which to build a new stadium for the club.
CBRE confirmed they had been instructed to secure a deal in preparation for the club to submit its proposals to the Football League next month.
The chief executive of CCFC (Holdings) LTD, Tim Fisher has maintained that as long as Sisu own the club, there is no possibility of a return to The Ricoh as long as it is jointly owned by the city council and AHC as ACL have consistantly refused to negotiate with the club and will only talk to the admistrator Paul Appleton.
Mr Appleton has put up for sale Coventry City Football Club LTD, the part of the company in administration and which is said to hold the infamous golden share, the licence to play in the Football League, but it does not hold the registration of any players or any other assets. Mr Fisher claims that CCFC LTD owe Sisu and associated companies £70m. He also reiterated that the club (Holdings) is not for sale.
Mr Appleton said last week that there is a possibilty of court action to sort out any future ownership of all parts of the club in order for it to play in the Football League. Legal clarification may also be required for approval to groundshare outside the city and to build a new stadium.
Any new stadium would likely have to be built outside the current Coventry city council admistrative area which may fall foul of Football League requirements.
A spokesman for CBRE said, “CBRE is advising Sisu, owner of Coventry City Football Club, on the club’s proposed relocation. The firm has been working on finding a site for a new stadium within the Coventry area and is close to agreeing a land deal.
“This will secure the future of the club going forward, providing first-class new facilities for the team, fans and the local community. Proposals will go before the Football League in June.”
Mr Fisher clarified the reason behind appointing CBRE by saying, said the company had been hired to provide football stadium expertise as well as identifying and aiding the purchase of a site.
Fisher said he expected a purchase to be completed within “three to four weeks”. he is being coy about revealing the locations of the possible sites, including a back up site, citing confidentiality for commercial reasons.
There are several brownfield sites availbale just outside the council administrative area and include sites at Brandon, Ansty Park (near Walsgrave) and at Ryton (on the old Peugeot car factory site) which is close to the club's Ryton training ground.
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/sport/football/football-news/coventry-city-closing-in-site-4022310