About stadium

Stadium introduction

Coventry City first moved into the Ricoh Arena at the start of the 2005/2006 season, having previously played their home matches at Highfield Road for the past 106 years. Requiring a more modern stadium, with better transport infrastructure, the decision to build a new ground was made as far back as 1997 by ten chairman Bryan Richardson. With planning permission granted during the early months of 1999, the Sky Blues anticipated a move in time for the 2000/2001 season, however the project was delayed by almost four years. After being relegated from the Premier League, the club found it more difficult to obtain finance, and thus it wasn’t until September 2002 that the last remaining gas holder on the proposed site was finally removed. By the time building work commenced, the scope of the project had once again changed and plans for a World-Class 45,000 capacity were now scaled down to 32,500. Reliant on England’s bid to host the 2006 Fifa World Cup, the amount of public funding decreased and combined with poor league standings it made sense to lower the capacity. On Friday the 6th October 2006, Coventry’s stadium did however get a taste of international football after England played Germany in an Under 21s Euro Championship match. Officially known as the Ricoh Arena after the Japanese electronic company signed a 10 year sponsorship deal, for the 2012 Olympics Games it was known as the commercially neutral “City of Coventry Stadium”. Originally owned by Coventry City Council and the Higgs Charity before Wasps purchased it in October 2014, Coventry City were at one stage embroiled in a rent dispute with the operators Arena Coventry Limited. Relocating to Northampton’s Sixfields Stadium at the start of the 2013-2014 season, the club made a return to the Ricoh Arena the following season after intervention from the Football League.

How to get to the Stadium

Phoenix Way, Coventry, CV6 6GE