Richard Keys says Mike Ashley’s deal for Coventry City’s stadium is a ‘fair one’
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Richard Keys believes Mike Ashley’s deal for the Coventry City stadium is “fair” despite the Championship club receiving an eviction notice.
The club issued a statement on Monday saying they were told by the Frasers Group, led by former Newcastle United owner Ashley, that a new license must be agreed to continue playing at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Coventry were surprised by the decision as they have a license to play there until 2031, but Frasers Group said the existing deal did not reflect the terms they agreed with the stadium’s former owners.
Keys, who works as a presenter for BeIN Sports in Qatar, tweeted: “The deal Mike Ashley has offered Coventry to play at CBS Arena is fair.
‘It would require the club not to default again. The property issues at Cov are a joke. Ashley can eliminate the chancers. If she ends up owning the club, she’ll have my back.
The Sky Blues, currently 12th in the Championship table, signed their current license when the stadium was owned by Wasps rugby union club, which went into administration in October.
Coventry City have received an eviction notice from the new owners of their stadium
The Frasers Group, led by former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley (left), is said to have told the club they needed to agree a new license to continue at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
They will then play at home against Swansea on December 17, although the BBC reported that the Frasers would give them a “reasonable amount of time” to remove ownership of the CBS Arena.
“The City of Coventry can confirm that it received an eviction notice from the Frasers Group, new owners of the Coventry Building Society Arena, on Friday afternoon,” a club statement read.
“Following the trustees’ takeover of the stadium by Frasers Group, Coventry City have been told that we must agree a new license to play at the Arena.
“We were surprised to learn of this intention by Frasers Group, as discussions with Coventry City prior to completing the purchase of the Arena led us to understand that the existing terms would continue unchanged with Frasers Group as the new owners of the Arena.
‘Coventry City Football Club have a long-term license to play at the Arena, which was agreed in March 2021 until 2031.
Richard Keys claimed that the deal that Mike Ashley has offered Coventry is “fair” and would “cut out the opportunists” apparently involved with the club.
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‘Frasers Group have now presented Coventry City with a new agreement with new commercial terms, which have been presented to us without any dialogue or negotiation, and are less favorable to the football club. Furthermore, this license would only be valid until May 2023.
“Frasers Group has said it would negotiate beyond May 2023, but this leaves us without the security and certainty that our current deal provides us and our fans.”
The statement added that they are happy to continue under the terms of the current license and that they expect the Fraser Group to act on “their words” that they “look forward to working with Coventry City.”
The Frasers in their own statement said: ‘Frasers, throughout their involvement with the stadium, have supported securing the long-term future of CCFC (Coventry City Football Club) by playing their matches at the stadium. This position remains unchanged.
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‘Prior to acquiring the stadium, Frasers issued a new license reflecting the terms CCFC had agreed with the previous owners. However, CCFC chose not to sign it at the time.
‘A revised proposal, together with a new license, has been issued to CCFC and will secure CCFC’s immediate future at the stadium.
‘Signing the license would allow for more detailed discussions of CCFC’s long-term arrangements at the stadium, including to accommodate a number of requests raised by CCFC.
“Frasers looks forward to working with the club to organize upcoming games.”
Last month the club agreed, subject to EFL approval, to sell a majority stake to local businessman Doug King, who will buy an 85 per cent stake in Sky Blues.
Coventry had to relocate home games earlier in the season due to a damaged pitch
The deal involves clearing all of the club’s current debts and Coventry had planned to make an equity offer to buy the stadium, following administration by the former owners Wasps, but lost out to Ashley.
It is the latest stadium problem the Sky Blues have suffered, as the club played in Northampton for one year in 2013-14 and spent two seasons at St Andrew’s in Birmingham until 2021.
They have also played seven of their first eight games away from home this season after the Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens tournament damaged the ground.