Coventry City statement: Commonwealth Games rugby 7s pitch damage

Coventry City Football Club have revealed that a Saturday night pitch inspection needs to be passed if their first home match of the English Championship season is to go ahead as scheduled a week after the culmination of the Commonwealth Games Rugby 7s at the Wasps ground.

The stadium in Coventry was packed out to capacity last weekend when it hosted a full three-day programme of matches in the men’s and women’s rugby sevens events in the Commonwealth Games. South Africa were crowned men’s champions and Australia women’s champions following their respective wins over Fiji last Sunday night amid a welter of excitement at the ground.

However, it has since emerged that the pitch at the Wasps-owned Coventry Building Society Arena suffered a heavy toll and it has left the local Coventry football club fearing that their game against Rotherham on Sunday might not go ahead.

A statement read: “Coventry City can confirm that there will be a pitch inspection at the Coventry Building Society Arena at 6pm on Saturday, ahead of our home game against Rotherham United.

“Concerns have been raised regarding the condition of the pitch at the Arena and there will be an inspection by a senior referee. We will keep supporters updated following this inspection on Saturday.”

Coventry City boss Mark Robins was apparently critical about the state of the pitch at his weekly media briefing, claiming that a new turf was scheduled to have been laid prior to the Commonwealth Games but this hadn’t taken place.

A stadium spokesperson later told coventrytelegraph.net: “Since the conclusion of the Commonwealth Games, which saw three full days of Rugby Sevens action take place at the arena, the grounds team have been working around the clock to repair the pitch in preparation for the start of the season.

"We are in close contact with the football club and committed to working with them to resolve their concerns. A pitch inspection will take place Saturday so a decision can be taken with regards to Sunday’s game.”