A high profile row with its most important tenant continues to rumble on but it has still been quite a year for the Ricoh Arena. Alun Thorne reports

It is a dispute that one party has warned could lead to the “mutual destruction” of all involved.

Coventry City Football Club, which moved from their famous Highfield Road ground to the Ricoh Arena in 2005, is currently refusing to pay their rent at the stadium, claiming £100,000 a month is too high now that the club has slipped into the third tier of league football.

It was the football club’s chief executive Tim Fisher who warned of Armageddon if a compromise wasn’t found and this week the High Court in Birmingham gave the club more time to pay bills of more than £600,000 and he has since said that the club and ACL – which runs the Ricoh Arena on behalf of owners Coventry City Council and the Alan Higgs Trust charity – remain in talks searching for a solution.

It is a case that has overshadowed an incredible period for the stadium which has seen it grow from an industrial wasteland to an Olympic venue seen in millions of homes across the world in less than a decade.

Coventry was one of the first cities in the UK to target the potential of the Games and six years ago put a structure in place to make the most of any opportunities.

There have been a few twists and turns during that time – it probably never expected to be a co-host city – but when the final whistle was blown on the bronze medal final women’s football game last week thoughts had already turned to what lasting value the Games could have. It was also the time when the wraps came off the City of Coventry Stadium and the Ricoh Arena re-emerged after its two months of Olympic cocooning. The battle to actually host 2012 events was won at the House of Commons and by “attitude” according to one of its main architects.

Daniel Gidney, chief executive of the Ricoh Arena, said the odds had been stacked against the Games coming to the UK’s 11th biggest city.

“When it became obvious that Villa Park would not be hosting events, we realised there was a glimmer of an opportunity,” he said. ‘‘But we needed certain things to happen to even stand a chance. Firstly David Mills, the then CEO of Ricoh UK, agreed that the company would be prepared to take its name off the arena for the duration of the Games.

“We had met him in London at a House of Commons dinner and I think he saw the ambition that we had to try to make it happen, but it was a major decision and I think testament to the relationship we have. Then we had to impress LOGOC to prove we were suitable. In a way we mirrored their approach in winning the Games for London, in that we left no stone unturned.

“Some venues delegated the bidding process down the executive ladder to facilities and stadium manager level, but we made this a key priority for me and the senior management team.

“We then produced a 32-page bid document which had letters of support from the two major political parties and from our main sponsors stressing that they were totally united and would do everything in their powers to make it happen. Literally only a handful of the bid documents were produced – they are like gold dust in this part of the world.”

There is no question that in profile alone the city and the venue has benefited. When Team GB women played Canada in the quarter-final, the BBC recorded an audience of three million. Football tickets sold better for Coventry games than at any other venue other than Wembley while city centre hotels and restaurants have recorded a rise in numbers. Coventry City Council ensured that £8 million of improvements to the city centre and its approaches were programmed in to be ready for the Games.

Other “wins” included the fact that all the Olympic torches were made just a few miles from the Ricoh, more than 100 Coventry and Warwickshire companies won 2012 contracts, the city is home to a live site and that more than 20,000 people turned out to see the arrival of the torch in the city.

There is also a £1.1 million legacy of investment made by the Olympic Delivery Authority.

In total the Olympics is estimated to have been worth around £50 million to the Coventry and Warwickshire economy but long-term will the Games have lasting and tangible benefits?

John Mutton, leader of Coventry City Council, believes it will – if that level of co-operation continues. He said: “The effort put in by all parties – including the Ricoh – was not about revenue it was about presenting the city in the best way possible to as big an audience as possible and at the same time maybe burying some misplaced perceptions of the city.

“We have constantly been praised by the organising authorities for the way we have co-operated and played a full part in all the preparations. I think we are known as a can-do city.

“Certainly there are larger cities who would have liked our slice of the Olympic action.”

The Ricoh returns to its more day-to-day activities before making plans for hosting the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup, another event which should give the city international profile.

The city is now joint seventh in the UK league table of business tourism – a massive leap from a decade ago – and ultimately that is what will boost the economy. On the football front, all parties remain confident a deal can be done that works for everyone.

Mr Gidney added: “We have created more rooms at our own hotel, there are plans for further hotels on-site while the range and number of business events here keeps growing. It is hard sometimes to think that 10 years ago this was a contaminated gas site and a good idea.”