Tuesday is key day in Coventry stadium plan for Wasps

Wasps could discover next week if their controversial plan to buy the Ricoh Arena and relocate to Coventry has been given the green light by the local council.

A revised offer to purchase 90 percent of ACL – the company that runs the 32,600 capacity stadium– is set to go before the local council in private next Tuesday. The council lent ACL £14.1m to secure the stadium’s future in January 2013.

Wasps, who dropped “London” from their name before this season started, believe they have to find an alternative home to Adams Park – which they share with Wycombe Wanderers – to become financially viable, although club officials have previously insisted their three year plan is aimed at targeting a new stadium nearer London.

Wasps fans have reacted strongly to the proposal to head to the Midlands following Standard Sport’s exclusive story revealing a plan to target the Ricoh Arena in August. The Arena cost £113m to build in 2005.

The club has won two Heineken Cup trophies and were England’s dominant club under captain Lawrence Dallaglio, previously played at Sudbury before moving to share Loftus Road with QPR under former owner Chris Wright. Wasps played Northampton at the Ricoh in 2007.

Adams Park has a capacity of 10,500 for rugby and Wasps have failed to build a strong fan base with less than 6,000 at Sunday’s win over Newcastle.

Derek Richardson, a London-based Irish businessman took over Wasps in April 2013 and stated:”Very obviously we want to increase revenue from ticket sales, increase sponsorship income and then, longer term, generate vital revenue through owning or co-owning our own stadium.”

The Coventry Telegraph has reported that financial advisors Deloitte has drawn up an investment prospectus, but it is rumoured the deal has hit a stumbling block, with Wasps struggling to generate enough support to meet the asking price of ACL’s joint stakeholders Coventry City Council and the Alan Edward Higgs Charity.

If a revised bid is put together, it is expected the council’s Labour group will discuss the deal on Monday and decide how to vote ahead of the full council meeting. Any deal would see the council retain a 10 per cent stake in ACL.

There is local anger at the plan with Coventry City football club having just returned to the stadium having spent a season playing at Northampton while Coventry Rugby Club insist they are the only rugby club in the City. Any deal would also have to be voted through by the full council – but that vote could be held in private for commercial confidentiality reasons .

A spokesman for Coventry City Council said: “We are committed to consider all options available to not just protect but also maximise the potential of the Ricoh Arena, but any discussions with any interested parties would remain commercially confidential until councillors needed to make a specific decision.”