Doug King urged to "make Mike Ashley sweat" as Coventry City 40,000-seater stadium plans emerge | OneFootball

Coventry City owner Doug King recently revealed that he has explored the possibility of building a new ground for the Sky Blues

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Coventry City owner Doug King is exploring the possibility of building a new 40,000-seater stadium to replace the CBS Arena.

As per the BBC, Butts Park Arena, the home of Coventry Rugby Club, is a proposed site for the new stadium in the American businessman’s plan.

The Sky Blues don’t own their current ground, with Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group holding that honour.

Coventry are contracted to play at the CBS Arena until 2028, and were offered a negative reaction to the plans for a new stadium by the city council.

Football League World’s Coventry City fan pundit, Chris Deez, believes that Doug King may have more cunning reasons behind his proposal of a new ground.

New theory presented over Coventry City’s new stadium plans

“We've been here before,” stated Chris. “This is a similar situation to what happened with Sisu on the surface of it.

“Sisu, our previous owners, kept talking about building this new stadium. They never really nailed down where it was going to be, or how long it was going to take, or how much money it might cost.

“We knew that they didn't have that money, because they wouldn't buy the Ricoh Arena.

“We've had a really tricky few years when it comes to stadiums. Doug King strikes me as a very astute and smart businessman. He's genuinely interested and passionate about creating a new stadium, but it might not be in a very accessible place, because I've heard links to a site over in Warwick and Butts Park Arena, which don’t have very good transport links.

“I like to think that this is just Doug King putting it out there, making it public, so that Mike Ashley will get a little bit worried. Because he owns the stadium, and if we move away in three years to go and play somewhere else, or make our own stadium, all of a sudden Ashley's got an empty ground that fits 32,000 people, and he's got nobody paying him any rent.

“So that's the general consensus among Coventry fans, and I completely agree with it. I think he's just doing it to make Mike Ashley sweat.

“So, we're certainly not in any rush. I’m not worried. I'm pretty sure something will be sorted by 2028. I'm not particularly keen on us going off and building a new stadium only 20 years since we moved from Highfield Road to the Ricoh.

“It just all seems a bit of a waste of money.”

Coventry City have multiple hurdles in the way of new stadium plans

Coventry are a club on the up and have enjoyed some exciting times over the past few years.

Play-off campaigns, FA Cup runs, and Frank Lampard in the dugout; there is a lot to be excited about surrounding the Sky Blues right now.

However, a new stadium still seems like a long shot.

Negative reactions from the city council and the chairman of the rugby club mean that there is already a lot of opposition to the proposal.