Coventry City: Doug King's future CBS Arena plans discussed amid £40m purchase claims | OneFootball

FLW's Coventry City fan pundit wants to know what will happen with the CBS moving forward

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…

There is plenty for Coventry City supporters to smile about right now, with the Sky Blues going great guns in the early stages of the Championship season.

City have become one of the stronger forces in the second tier over a gradual period ever since regaining their status at this level back in the summer of 2020, which has resulted in the club making two post-season play-off campaigns and an FA Cup semi-final all within the past three campaigns.

Coventry have failed to return to the Premier League since being relegated in May 2001, although there is a stronger sense, week-by-week, that current boss Frank Lampard could be the man to end such a lengthy exile, with the ex-Chelsea and England midfielder having plenty of high-profile and technically-gifted talents at his disposal such as Milan van Ewijk, Victor Torp, Jack Rudoni and Haji Wright among others.

Several high-scoring encounters in the opening weeks of the 2025/26 season have also coincided with perhaps, the greatest development to come out of these parts in a footballing sense for many years, as the club confirmed they had purchased the CBS Arena for the very first time last month, some 20 years after initially moving to their current CV6 home from Highfield Road.

With the stadium having plenty of nearby retail and in-house conference or non-footballing opportunities, Football League World's Coventry fan pundit, Chris Deez, revealed that he wants to know what owner Doug King's plans are for the future in order to help bring extra revenue into the Sky Blues' coffers.

Coventry City urged to make the most of CBS Arena purchase with extra revenue

The CBS has previously seen off-season concerts - such as Harry Styles in the summer of 2023 - take place, yet at a time when funds generated from the event weren't added to City's resources in the transfer market.

It was revealed that King had acquired the stadium for nigh on £40m in late August, with Deez urging the owner to replicate goings-on at the likes of local rivals Aston Villa, who became the 18th-highest side in the world when it came to overall revenue in January, with some of the incoming funds stemming from hospitality, concerts and sponsorship deals.

"There's only really one thing that I would ask Doug King," Deez admitted. "He's come in and made a whole host of changes and decisions.

"Some of them have been really popular - like buying the stadium - and other unpopular decisions such as changes to the 'family zone' and ticketing.

"All I'd like to know, off the back of us finally owning the stadium, what extra plans does he have for creating extra revenue?," our fan pundit said.

"Shortly after buying the stadium, it was announced that Ed Sheeran is going to be playing a gig in early December. That's absolutely massive. Obviously, he's one of the biggest artists in the entire world.

"Does he have any plans for expanding or renaming the stands? A lot of stadiums have done that over the years. There's loads I could think of if we were to rename them after legends, but is he looking to bring in sponsorships and have companies own the stands?

"I wouldn't like that to happen for all four stands," Deez added. "I'd be more than happy to sell the naming rights of one or two and then have a 'Jimmy Hill Stand' and a '(George) Curtis and (John) Sillett stand'.

"Now that we finally own the stadium, this is our first chance to make some revenue, some pure profit. He's already reduced the beer prices, we're selling more food and drink and earning that money.

"He's a very smart businessman, I'm sure he's got lots of ideas," our fan pundit claimed. "We've struggled as fans for such a long time.

"We've not seen money come into the club as it should have been or spent as it should've, so it's an exciting time. But, I'd love to know what he's got planned."

Doug King will look to make the most of CBS Arena purchase

Of course, one of the main factors in purchasing the stadium was putting an end to any worries regarding Coventry's long-term future after previous groundsharing instances with Northampton Town and Birmingham City.

However, it is imperative that King and the Coventry hierarchy use this opportunity to full advantage and bring in extra money that can be reinvested into several areas of the club.

As Deez alluded to, this previously wasn't an option, with the majority of the current squad coming in following the high-profile departures of Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer in the summer of 2023 rather than additional funds raised through non-footballing events.

It is certainly an exciting period in the club's history right now, and this season could see the club return to the top flight after a quarter of a century away if Lampard's side keep up their early-season momentum and goalscoring form.