AWAY FANS' GUIDE | Coventry City

Tickets
 
Tickets will be on sale on the day from an alternative ticket outlet, as opposed to on the turnstiles. We have been handed an allocation of 1066 seats and tickets are priced at £22 adults, £15 over 60s and under 22s, and £10 under 18s.
 
Turnstiles
 
As no doubt many people will know, Coventry have moved from their long-time home, Highfield Road, to a modern, newly built stadium on the periphery of the city next to the M6. It does look impressive from the outside but once inside it looks very similar to many other new-build grounds. We are situated in the south stand behind the goal, although it does extend slightly into the corner, to the left of the goal as you face the pitch. The view is unimpeded, however it is a long way from the pitch, quite steep and there is a minimum of one climb to access the seating area. The concourses, as one would expect, are clean, spacious and a bit dark, with TVs etc.
 
Food
 
Available inside the ground. However, given that there is a retail park nearby, all of the usual suspects that sell burgers, Italian food, have a diner-type feel along with supermarkets are there in force.
 
Refreshments
 
I would expect Coventry city to be a bit of a ghost town as it is a Bank Holiday, but the ground is three miles from it anyway, which could make things even more difficult. The Cherry Tree Club on Lythalls Lane is a about a ten minute trundle from the ground and welcomes both home and away fans, apparently is very good value for money. Nearby Longford also has a few nice places, including one pub that doubles up as a curry house, whilst along the Longford Road there is a canal towpath running concurrently that has a couple of nice places en route.
 
Travel
 
For a relatively short journey, as mentioned previously, it is a Bank Holiday and has all of the makings of a long Good Friday. The Post Code is CV6 6GE. It is quite a simple route and you really cannot miss the stadium as it is in clear sight of the M6, which you need to leave at Junction 3, then follow the A444 towards the city centre and hey presto. There is limited parking at the stadium if you get there early enough along with a few schools and industrial units. On nearby Oban Road there is a reasonable sized car park, whilst another called Leisure Island is just off the exit from the motorway and is signposted.
 
Trains are fun. As ever, no real thought is given to the train traveller, so Coventry Station is non-walkable. Cabs are available outside the station and tend to linger around the ground post match as well, but on a previous visit the cabbie took me via a "short cut" and thus ended up sat in traffic for an hour. You can catch bus number 4 from the main bus station in the city to Coventry Arena railway station.
 
There is indeed a station within easy walking distance to the ground. The optimum route is to take the train from London to Nuneaton, change here and take the train to Coventry Arena, which only takes about 15 minutes. Sounds too good to be true doesn't it? Yes, it is, there is only one train an hour from Nuneaton.

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