The Coventry Building Society Arena is a multi-purpose stadium that has become a cornerstone of Coventry’s sporting and entertainment landscape. This article delves into the intricacies of this iconic venue, offering a comprehensive overview of its capacity, ticket information, seating arrangements, notable records, precise location, and parking facilities. Whether you’re a die-hard football fan, a concert-goer, or simply curious about this remarkable stadium, this guide has everything you need to know.
The Coventry Building Society Arena, also called CBS Arena or just Coventry Arena, is a sports complex in Coventry, England. It used to be called Ricoh Arena. It includes a 32,609-seat stadium that is currently home to the soccer team, and championship club Coventry City F.C., along with facilities including a 6,000-square-meter (65,000-square-foot) exhibition hall, a hotel, and a casino.
The site is also home to the Arena Park shopping center, which contains one of the largest Tesco Extra hypermarkets in the UK. Built on the site of the Foleshill Gasworks, it is named after its sponsor, the Coventry Building Society, who signed a ten-year sponsorship deal in 2021.
| Built In: | 2005 |
| Capacity: | 32,609 |
| Home Teams: | Coventry City |
| Ground Size: | 120m x 68m |
Coventry Building Society Arena Stadium History
Bryan Richardson, then chairman of Coventry City Football Club, made the decision to relocate the club from Highfield Road to a new stadium with a larger capacity, better road links, and parking facilities in 1997. The new stadium was anticipated to be ready for the 2000-01 season. In the spring of 1999, permission was given to build a stadium with seats for 45,000 people. It was expected to be done by August 2001. But the stadium didn’t open until four years later than planned and wasn’t as fancy as was hoped.
Coventry was one of three cities to bid for England’s new national stadium, along with London and Birmingham. In 2001, Nick Nolan, leader of Coventry City Council, stated that his proposal was always the strongest because construction could be completed in three years. The council’s plan was to build a 90,000-seat stadium at an estimated cost of £250 million. However, it was decided that Wembley, London, would remain the location of the national stadium.
The original design for the arena was for a state-of-the-art stadium with a retractable roof and a court that could slide down to reveal a hard floor for concerts. After Coventry City’s relegation from the Premiership in May 2001, several contractor/financier withdrawals, and the failure of England’s bid to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup, plans were scaled back significantly to reflect the new realities. By the summer of 2002, there were plans for a more basic 32,500-seat stadium in place.
The arena’s first name, ‘The Ricoh Arena’, comes from a multi-year sponsorship deal, valued at £10 million, with camera and photocopier maker Ricoh. During construction, the stadium was given various names including Jaguar Arena, Arena Coventry, and Arena 2000.
The stadium’s first sponsor, the luxury carmaker Jaguar, had to back out because of business problems that led to the controversial closing of Jaguar’s large assembly plant in Brown’s Lane, which had been a major employer in Coventry. This is why Ricoh became the stadium’s new sponsor.
On August 4, 2004, 12 months before the stadium was due to open, it was announced that the new stadium would be called Jaguar Arena in a deal worth up to £7 million until 2015. However, the deal was canceled on December 17, 2004. Jaguar, however, retained the naming rights to the Arena Showroom. Ricoh’s sponsorship of the new stadium was confirmed on April 26, 2005.
On May 5, 2021, it was announced that the venue would be renamed the Coventry Building Society Arena. The name change went into effect in the summer of 2021 as part of a 10-year naming rights deal with the UK’s second-largest building society.
Stadium Capacity
Coventry Building Society Arena Stadium has a seating capacity of 32,609 seats.
Coventry Building Society Arena Stadium Seating Plan
Coventry Building Society Arena Seating Plan:
Parking
At the Coventry Building Society Arena, we have 2000 car parking spaces available to all our guests, making your visit to us simple & stressful free.
