A long-running dispute over the sale of Coventry Building Society Arena has drawn to a close.
Legal proceedings bought by Coventry City FC related to the sale of the stadium by Coventry City Council to rugby club Wasps in 2014.
These have now ended after the European Commission closed the case and the owners of Coventry City also said they were ending all proceedings.
This latest development follows a complaint by the football club in 2019 to the EU Commission after it had exhausted all of the UK legal system's processes.
The dispute between the football club's owners and Coventry City Council has been ongoing since that 2014 sale and centres around the valuation the council placed on the stadium.
In October 2014, Wasps bought out the council's 50 per cent stake in Arena Coventry Ltd, the company which owns the stadium, then known as the Ricoh Arena under a previous sponsorship deal.
The following month, Wasps acquired the other 50 per cent from local charity Alan Edward Higgs.
Coventry City claimed the council had undervalued the stadium's operating company when Wasps acquired it for around £20 million, with the club's lawyers arguing it was worth close to £50 million and the sale was therefore a breach of EU state aid law.
The complaint to the European Commission proved a major stumbling block in negotiations for Coventry City to play its home games at the ground so it ended up ground sharing with Birmingham City for two seasons.
A new ground-sharing deal for ten years was struck with Wasps last March, meaning Coventry City returned to the arena for the start of the current 2021/22 football season.
In 2020, both Coventry City and University of Warwick announced a new partnership to investigate the possibility of building a brand new stadium on land close to the institute's campus in the city.
Joy Seppala, owner of Coventry City FC, said: "Following discussions with the University of Warwick, we are now able to end all proceedings relating to the sale of the Coventry Building Society Arena.
"As we move forward with our vision, we want to draw a clear line under the past and continue to build new and strong relationships with all our partners, including Coventry City Council.
"We can now move forward to achieve this and together deliver a football club which the city of Coventry can continue to be proud of."
Stuart Croft, vice-chancellor at University of Warwick, added: "We have worked closely with Coventry City FC to get to this point.
"I'm delighted that Coventry City has now sought to end all proceedings and together we can move forward together towards an exciting future.
"The University of Warwick is proud to be able to support our city's football club. Not only will this benefit the club and its fans but the wider benefits to the city will be significant."
Cllr George Duggins, leader of Coventry City Council, welcomed the end of legal action and said it marked the start of a new chapter.
"We are seeking confirmation that the proceedings against us have been closed but, if it is the case, I'd like to first pay tribute to Cllr John Mutton and Cllr Ann Lucas both of whom had to deal with the dispute during their leadership," he said.
"I think we were always confident that our actions were legitimate as confirmed through a number of court cases including before the High Court and Court of Appeal.
"But now is not a time to look backwards. We have always said that our aim as a council has been to have a successful Sky Blues side playing in its home city in front of its faithful supporters, with everyone working together to achieve success.
"It is what the team and fans deserve "As a councillor, and as a fan, I am sure today's news is a relief to everyone with the best interests of the club at heart. It marks the start of a new chapter and I can see an exciting future for the club, both on the pitch and off it."
