'Pivotal' moment as Coventry City buys CBS Arena

Coventry City has completed the purchase of its home stadium, the Coventry Building Society Arena, the club has revealed.

The Sky Blues bought it from Frasers Group and said it marked a "pivotal moment" in the club's history.

Doug King, chairman and owner of Coventry City, said owning the CBS Arena meant the club could be safeguarded "not only [for] the present but for future generations".

"This is more than a transaction. It is a statement of ambition and belief in Coventry," he said.

The announcement comes in the week of the 20th anniversary since the arena opened. The Championship club said the move would provide "long-term stability".

King thanked supporters for their "unwavering" loyalty through years of uncertainty and said the ownership came with "immense pride and great joy".

"As owners we can invest in facilities, fan experience, and wider opportunities for our community. We are proud to finally call this stadium our own."

It emerged last month that King had been exploring the possibility of building a new 40,000-seater stadium at the site of Butts Park Arena, although the chairman of Coventry Rugby Club described the plans as "unfeasible".

The Sky Blues' agreement to play at the CBS Arena had been due to expire at the end of the 2027-28 season.

It has been a torturous time for supporters since they left Highfield Road in 2005. In that time they have had four stadium owners, four home grounds, three football club owners and countless protests.

But now, finally, the stadium, which was built for Coventry City, belongs to the club.

The club has not revealed how much it paid Fraser Group, however, it was last purchased for £17m in 2022 by tycoon Mike Ashley.

At the time, new owner of the club King made a last-minute bid of £25m to purchase the stadium, but a court ruled the offer was too late.

Mark Smith, who hosts the All Things Sky Blue podcast, said he was excited about the future of the club and looked forward to attracting more quality players.

He described the news as "monumental" and a long time in the making.

"The ground was built for Coventry City Football Club, this is our ground. Hopefully now we can kick on and get back to where we belong in the Premier League," he said.

The Sky Blues are hosting Queens Park Rangers at the CBS Arena at 15:00 BST, and coincidentally the visitors were the first away team to play at the stadium in 2005.

"This weekend they return as Coventry celebrates not just an anniversary, but a new era of ownership and ambition," Coventry City said.

Garry Thompson, who played for Coventry City for six seasons, said he had kept re-reading the "fantastic" news about the club when he woke up on Saturday morning.

He said the announcement opened up a "whole new avenue" for the club and Sky Blue fans would be "absolutely made up" by the news.

"We'll get better revenue streams which means you can bring in better players in the long term. The club can only get better and bigger," he said.

"CBS Arena was a massive stadium but then you realised you don't own it. What Doug King has done is absolutely monumental for this club."