‘Get Cov Back To The Ricoh’ election candidate Brian Patton has today challenged Coventry City Council leader Ann Lucas to a public election debate.
It comes ahead of a Sky Blues fans’ demonstration – billed simply as a “Take Us Home” rally – outside the Council House on Saturday, May 10, at 1pm, as part of ‘Get Cov Back To The Ricoh’s “Vote Them Out” campaign.
Ex-councillor Patton will stand in the Holbrook ward in the May 22 council elections against the leader who has presided over a year of the bitter dispute which resulted in Coventry City Football Club playing home matches 35 miles away in Northampton.
Brian – a long-standing critic of the council’s involvement in the Ricoh Arena and how it has affected the club – aims to pressurise the council to do more to get the Sky Blues back to the council-owned stadium for next season.
He has today issued a public challenge to councillor Lucas and all other candidates standing in Holbrook to a public debate – which could take place in the ward ahead of election day on a date to be decided, attracting media coverage.
Brian said: “We desperately need to hear from the council leader about what she intends to do to bring our city’s great football club back home – to the city it belongs, for next season. If it doesn’t happen, the club may not survive much longer.
“I challenge Ann to a public debate so fans and taxpayers can get the answers they so desperately need. The city is crying out for leadership.
“Here in Holbrooks in the shadow of the Ricoh Arena, businesses have closed because of the disastrous consequences of this dispute which all sides must share responsibility for, including the council and its stadium company, Arena Coventry Limited. The entire city’s economy and reputation among potential investors has been damaged too.
“Here, as across the city, most people don’t predominantly care who owns either the club or stadium. They want Coventry City FC back home above all else – and the sooner the better.
Brian added: “The way the council has handled this issue has been appalling. They have operated under a cloak of secrecy – hiding behind dubious legal advice in refusing to even discuss the matter with fans, voters and taxpayers – even when taxpayers’ money has been spent. That includes the £14.4million of our money they spent in secret to bail out what has become an empty taxpayer-subsidised stadium – when it was valued at less than half of that.
“On the rare occasions when Ann has spoken, she has explained why she was calling on the club’s owners to come back as tenants. She has ruled out any talks over a sale of the Ricoh which would unite the club and stadium for the benefit of the city and our much-loved football club.
“That strategy has patently failed. It is likely to go on failing. It is time for change.
“Ann even refused to conduct an economic impact survey into the lost revenue from losing the football club, called for by the Get Cov Back To The Ricoh campaign when it met her in November.
“Unfortunately, the council don’t even appear to be willing to talk to CCFC. It appears too many councillors – both Labour and Tory – have been working to ensure that CCFC don’t return to the Ricoh because they don’t get on with the owners. That needs to stop and people need to ‘grow up’.
“The best prospect of a Ricoh return remains talks over a sale of the stadium, which could be on a long leasehold with ACL removed in the interests of the city. All sides much be prepared to take a hit and not expect a mythical return at some mystical point in the future. That is not serving the city well.”
Brian, in announcing his candidacy last week, said: “Coventry City Football Club were basically set up to fail when the plans for the Ricoh Arena were first drawn up (in 2003). It was obvious to anyone that would listen that they would not be able to attract 22,000 fans to every home game, and that is what they had to do to be able to afford to pay the £1.2m per annum rent.
“In addition, what revenue the football club would be able to make from playing its games at the Ricoh was never really taken into account. These issues now need to be looked at in greater detail, regardless of what comes out of the Judicial Review that is now pending.”
Brian became a Labour councillor in a by-election in 1997 and remained a councillor until he was barred from standing by the party in the 2008 local elections. He said: ‘This was because I refused to accept a written warning for abstaining on a vote in Full Council – ironically about the Ricoh Arena.”
Brian went on to stand in Coventry in elections for the Liberal Democrats, and he stood for election to Parliament as an MP in the 2010 general election in Coventry South.
Brian has been a highly vocal public critic of the council’s involvement in the Ricoh Arena since a deal was approved in 2003 to build the stadium. He has also criticised the £14.4million secret council deal to bail-out the part-council owned Ricoh management company, Arena Coventry Limited, in January last year. That deal will next month be subject to a Judicial Review into whether it was a mis-use of taxpayers’ money.
Brian works for the National Probation Service as a Probation Service Officer and has worked there for about 18 years.
The Get Cov Back To The Ricoh campaign – set up last year to represent fans and Coventry people who believe the club’s Ricoh return should be the priority whoever owns the club or stadium – launched its “Vote Them Out" campaign earlier this month.
It is calling on anyone who cares about the Sky Blues’ threatened future to join the demonstration outside Coventry City Council in Earl Street, city centre, on Saturday, May 10, at 1pm.
Long-standing Coventry City fans Rob Stevens and Stuart Cosgrove, joint organisers of the Get Cov Back To The Ricoh campaign, believe that while fans debate to what extent each party was responsible, most people blame all sides, and want all sides to be held to account.
“The Sky Blues’ future remains in doubt with £7million further losses last year recently announced. Liquidation remains a threat, whether or not the plan is to build a new stadium in Warwickshire would could take years. The club’s owners have repeatedly said they will not return as tenants, and will not sell the club before acquiring a stadium. For those fans who want rid of Sisu, combining the club and stadium would give Sisu an exit strategy.”
“The council is heavily Labour dominated and the Conservative opposition have supported councillors’ and council officers’ strategy over the football club. This month’s elections are a chance for all voters to have their say on the dispute and demand more action to bring our club back to the council-owned stadium for next season, which was only built because of the football club.
“We are calling on fans to join the demonstration, and contact election candidates in their wards in a search for answers. If they are not satisfied with their councillors’ answers or actions whichever party they belong to, now is the chance to vote them out.
“There has been a lack of transparency and democratic accountability at Coventry City Council. We do not know how much council taxpayers’ money has been spent of legal and PR fees in the dispute; and our call in December at a council meeting with leader Ann Lucas for an economic impact survey into losing the club was ignored.
Stuart Cosgrove said: “In October, we held a small demonstration at the Council House on a weekday lunchtime. It was never intended as a mass demonstration, but to present one of the largest petitions the council has ever received. The council leader Ann Lucas broke her silence at the council meeting that day and it lead to talks between her and Sisu’s Joy Seppala.
“This will be the first full demonstration during a weekend for us, when more people are available. We welcome all fans and people who care about the club’s future and want to see a Ricoh return next season, regardless or who owns the stadium or the club.
“If you only blame the club’s owners, this demonstration is not for you. We are not apologists for Sisu. They have made mistakes and we have publicly criticised them. We have supported other fans’ activities. But if you believe all sides should shoulder responsibility, now is the time to hold the council to account, whatever comes from the forthcoming Judicial Review, which may or may not move the situation forward.”