R's on The Road.......... To Coventry City.

This Saturday Rangers’ enter another six pointer after the 2-1 midweek loss to Ipswich. Coventry City are the hosts and after their 1-0 win against promotion chasers Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night it looks to be an interesting encounter. Here’s a little preview of what to expect on your travels.



The Stadium.

Current Capacity – 32,500.

Coventry City were formed in 1883 but were originally known as Singers. In 1898 the club changed its name to Coventry City and just one year later they moved to a new home, Highfield Road, after short stints at Dowells Field and Stoke Road.
Highfield Road was the clubs home for 106 years before they moved to the £113 million pound Ricoh Arena complex in August 2005. The clubs first game at the Ricoh Arena was against the R’s and run out comfortable 3-0 winners.
The Ricoh Arena is another one of those bowl style stadiums with three high single tier stands and one very unique looking stand with corporate boxes which backs onto the other stadium facilities that include a casino. The atmosphere is often disappointing and can be hard to drum up any real noise.
The away fans are housed in the Jewson South Stand (opposite Tesco) and 3,000 fans can be seated here. When climbing to the top of the stand, if you desire to, do be careful as the stairs are quite steep.




The History between the teams.

At Coventry City (51)

Coventry 26
QPR 10
Draw 15

In the four fixtures since the Ricoh Arena was opened in 2005 the record stands at Coventry 2, QPR 1 with 1 draw.
The solitary win for the R’s came in April 2007 when Jimmy Smith scored the winning goal in the second half.



How to get there.

By Car:- The postcode for the ground is CV6 6GE.
Get onto the M6 and leave at Junction 3. Turn left and then left again and you will reach a place for parking in a field. Over 200 spaces are available in here at £5 per car. Another place to park is opposite the field and is next to the Novotel hotel complex, this also costs £5.
From here a 10 minute walk awaits you. Head towards the Novotel and follow the road around into a housing estate and keep walking straight. You will walk through an old looking industrial estate before reaching the top of the hill and seeing the Ricoh Arena in front of you.

By Train:- The train station is over three miles away from the ground and is therefore too far to walk. There is a shuttle bus that runs from the bus station to the Ricoh Arena/Tesco complex every 10 minutes. An adult return ticket will cost around the £3 mark.


Pubs 'n' Grub.

I would recommend The Black Horse Pub for the visit to Coventry. If you park in either of the car parks I have mentioned then it is easy to find. Head in the opposite direction to the Ricoh Arena and walk underneath the M6 and up a hill on the Longford Hill and after 5 minutes you will see the pub on your right hand side.
Beer is served inside the ground for around the £3.20 mark.
With the complex being a complex there aren’t any eating outlets around the ground so burger vans and refreshments inside the stadium will need to be relied upon.