Wasps Rugby Club, the owners of Ricoh Arena management company Arena Coventry Limited have issued the following press statement:
"Having already spoken to Coventry City Football Club, Wasps can confirm plans concerning certain elements of the stadium, following the acquisition of a 100% shareholding in the Ricoh Arena. The Club appreciates the history of Coventry City Football Club at the Ricoh and will always take this into account when making any changes at the ground.
Pitch Improvements
We recognise the challenges with the pitch and have sought to address this immediately. Wasps appreciate the importance of ensuring the playing surface at the Ricoh Arena is in first class condition for every match (both football and rugby) and have therefore taken the decision to install a new pitch at the end of this season. This will be a hybrid reinforced pitch able to withstand the demands of both football and rugby matches, with a mixture of natural grass and synthetic fibres.
To ensure the new pitch is kept in premium condition, the installation company will also be appointed as the maintenance contractor using their turf specialists. In addition, the installation company will be providing a specialist agronomist to work full time with the current ground staff to improve the pitch between now and the end of the year, and they will then have an on-going consultancy role until the end of the season.
This is a major investment for Wasps and demonstrates their total commitment to ensuring the Ricoh Arena has the best possible playing surface for both the rugby and football clubs. Work will commence in the next couple of weeks prior to Wasps first game on 21 December.
Wasps Logo
The Wasps logo will be situated prominently on the exterior of the Ricoh Arena and on internal areas including the Stadium bowl itself, with the CCFC logo continuing to be displayed alongside the Wasps logo in most cases.
Wasps CEO Nick Eastwood said: “We understand the Ricoh is home for Sky Blues supporters and we hope they also understand Wasps desire to make our players and supporters feel at home here too. We are proud to have found a magnificent permanent home where we can put down roots and we would like to celebrate this, while always remaining respectful to Coventry City and their fans.
“We have had a number of very constructive meetings with representatives of CCFC and have explained our plans to them. We also have had a wide-ranging discussion on many areas in which the two clubs could potentially cooperate in the future. The discussions were positiveand we are keen to keep an open dialogue with CCFC regarding both our plans. We are confident both parties will be able to build a successful partnership working alongside each other.”