As if the start to this Premiership season wasn’t gripping enough, Wasps Rugby confirmed earlier this week their permanent move to Coventry to play at the Ricoh Arena. The stadium, which is currently home of Coventry City Football Club, was bought off Coventry City council in a deal of around £19 million for a 50% stake-hold. Leaving current home Adams Park in High Wycombe, the 90 mile move has understandably caused an uproar amongst fans, who see the change as a betrayal of loyalty. But what does it mean for the club on and off the pitch?
Two years ago, Wasps (who dropped the ‘London’ prefix in the summer) almost went bankrupt, and have since been clawing back their financial stability to avoid the club disbanding altogether. In Wednesday’s press conference, it was revealed that the club are, at present, losing £3 million a year and if it was not for the purchase of the Midlands based site, the club would most likely go under. The acquisition of the stadium includes the hotel, casino and conference hall, meaning the revenue from these facilities will create the highest turnover out of all the clubs in the Premiership.
Wasps move will see the club play their first home game at the Ricoh in December, and will be share it with CCFC, who have only just secured the stadium back after their own financial headaches in recent years. To avoid clashes in fixtures, CCFC will play their home games on Saturdays whilst Wasps will play on Sundays.
Whilst the move hopes to help make Coventry a dynamic city of sport, it encroaches on local teams who contemplate what affect the move will have on them. Coventry RFC, who have been a successful and established club for 130 years, have already voiced their concerns. However Wasps Chief Executive Nick Eastwood declared his confidence in both clubs working together to make rugby thrive and spoke of the club’s relationship with both Coventry RFC and CCFC:
“We are not here to take over anyone’s territory. This is about being collaborative not competitive.”
Supporters of Wasps clearly had strong words to say about the decision, some harshly concluding that they will not follow Wasps up north. It’s not surprising; it can’t be expected for fans, including 2,800 season ticket holders, to travel the average round trip of almost 200 miles to watch a ‘home’ game. With most season ticket holders living within half an hour of Adams Park, it is a huge issue for fans who have been left feeling disappointed and let-down by the club, especially for those who have been life-long supporters. Wasps have obviously taken on board what this mid-season move has meant in terms of travel and have offered those with season tickets free coach travel from High Wycombe and East London to Coventry (or free car parking at the stadium if fans wanted to come on their own accord). But for those who are not season ticket holders, there is no solution, and for some the damage is already done.
Passionate statements from James Haskell and Dai Young display the club’s hopes for long-standing fans to continue their support. Furthermore, the idea is that people in and around Coventry will take up the chance to attend Premiership matches and bring more atmosphere to the 32,000 capacity ground. Nevertheless, with rival Premiership sides Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints nearby and both with big crowds of devoted fans, questions are being raised as to how many new supporters Wasps will actually gain.
Club captain Haskell expressed his excitement at the change, but firmly stated that rugby is still the main focus for the players who know they have jobs to do on the field. Land Rover have been announced as the club’s main partner, and the plans for an advanced new training centre to be built in the area over the next 18 months improves Wasps prestige within the rugby world. Intentions are that all this will attract big names and well-known players to strengthen the Wasps team even more. Director of Rugby Dai Young said:
“World-class players want to play at world-class arenas.”
Only time will tell as to whether this new chapter in Wasps existence will be for the best. All in all, the crux of the matter is to watch this space.
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