The Coventry Building Society Arena (formerly known as the Ricoh Arena) is located in Coventry, England and is the home ground of Coventry City FC since 2005. It has a capacity of 32,609 and owned by rugby club Wasps. The stadium was originally built as a replacement for Coventry City’s Highfield Road ground. Following a rent dispute with the grounds owners, the football club left the arena in 2013, playing their home matches in Northampton for over a year before returning in September 2014. Within two months the stadium shareholders were bought out by rugby club Wasps, who relocated to the stadium from their previous ground. A further dispute with Wasps prior to the 2019-20 season saw Coventry City leave the Ricoh for a further two seasons. In March 2021, Wasps and Coventry City agreed a ten-year deal to return to the arena and the city of Coventry. The stadium was the first cashless stadium in the United Kingdom, with customers using a prepay smart card system in the ground’s bars and shops.
Location: Phoenix Way, Rowleys Greem Coventry
Public transport: Coventry Arena Train Station. The station is located 5 walking minutes from the Arena.
Highfield Road was the home ground of Coventry City FC from 1899 to 2005. It was built in 1899 in the Hillfields district, close to the city centre. The ground had one of the largest playing surfaces in the English leagues and was the English league’s first all-seater stadium. As it lacked facilities compared to the new stadia of similar-sized clubs and parking facilities in the local area were inadequate the club moved to the Ricoh Arena/
