The Leader of Coventry Conservatives, Cllr Kevin Foster, has today (Tuesday 15th January 2013) said that it is now time for SISU to constructively negotiate CCFC’s future as he outlined why his group voted to support a plan to refinance ACL’s debt.
Conservatives on the City Council today supported a package of measures aimed at securing the future of ACL, the company which runs the Ricoh Arena. Crucially this includes the City Council refinancing the company’s debt with Yorkshire Bank which will allow it to restructure payments over a longer period allowing it to survive with a lower rental income from Coventry City Football Club.
Conservatives agreed to support the deal on the basis that it set out a clear plan for the future and would allow a realistic business plan for ACL to be implemented. Whilst parts of the deal are commercially confidential the City Council will receive a rate of interest on the loan, secured against ACL’s lease on the stadium, which is higher than that which will be paid on any necessary borrowing.
Commenting on the deal Kevin said: “It is clear that something radical needed to happen to put ACL, the company which manages the Ricoh Arena, onto a firm financial footing for the future. Over the last year we had been calling on the City Council to take action and be more open about moves being made to secure its future, as well as the Council’s shareholding in it.
This included the City Council being realistic about the need for a cut in the rental payments from CCFC. Yet we also believe that SISU should not be rewarded for simply refusing to pay any rent and backed legal action by ACL intended to force them into paying up.”
“Ten years ago I refused to back a financial package for the Arena that I believed was unrealistic and unsustainable due to the elements affecting the football club. Moving to a new stadium should have been part of bringing a new era of long term success, yet a decade of disappointment culminating in relegation to the third tier of English Football has been the result. I hope today marks a new start for the Ricoh and CCFC, it is now time for SISU to engage constructively about the future. The whole of Coventry will be looking at their reaction.” In relation to the confidentiality that surrounded today’s vote and report to Council.
Kevin added: “As a group we believe our actions as Councillors should always be based on our oaths of office and duties to our constituents, not any separate deal signed behind closed doors. That is why we refused to sign the now infamous “gagging order” on ACL when asked to do so last year. Much of the information it covered we were able to deduce and it set a worrying precedent for the future. My group has not signed it, but following detailed briefings we were prepared to accept that the public interest would not be served by certain details being released prior to the vote taking place today.”