Coventry City eyes up masterplan for CBS Arena
Coventry City Football Club is poised to complete a £1.6m deal for a council-owned car park, ahead of potential future development plans for the stadium area.
Proposals on the agenda at a city council cabinet meeting next week would see the local authority agree a ten-year lease on Car Park C at the CBA Arena, bringing the entire 40-acre stadium site under the club’s control.
The Sky Blues currently manage the council-owned car park under licence from the city council, but say they want to take a “holistic approach” to the management, master planning, and future development of the CBS Arena.
The club completed its £50m purchase of the CBS Arena site from Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group in August 2025.
The move comes with the West Midlands Combined Authority considering a grant application from the club, which wants to undertake a master planning exercise of the wider Arena area with a view to future developments, according to council documents published today.
“It was always anticipated that the construction of the then, Ricoh Arena, would be the catalyst for wider regeneration on this area around the stadium, ” said a report to the council’s cabinet.
If the plans are rubber-stamped at cabinet, none of the funds would go directly to the authority, with the club providing sport and cultural activities to the value of £160,000 per year through its charitable arm, Sky Blues in the Community.
Coventry City Council says the unusual arrangement will ensure a “direct benefit for the people of Coventry”, with a ten-year agreement to be drawn up following an expected local authority thumbs-up for the plans.
The proposals have been recommended for approval ahead of Coventry City Council’s cabinet meeting at 2pm on 13 October.
