Fans of Coventry City have been boosted by the news that the club are likely to begin fresh talks regarding a potential return to the Ricoh Arena in the near future.
A long-running rent row with stadium management company Arena Coventry Limited saw City agree a three-year groundshare 34 miles away at Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium in July.
The move outraged supporters, many of whom have boycotted 'home' games this season, resulting in an average attendance of just around 2,000.
However, dialogue between the League One outfit and ACL could now restart, giving fans a glimmer of hope that the club could return to Coventry sooner than expected.
A statement from supporters' group the Sky Blue Trust, who have held separate talks with both parties in the last 11 days, read: "ACL indicated to the Trust that they would be willing to discuss with the owners of CCFC the potential for a new rental deal at the stadium.
"Our understanding is that ACL would react positively to a business proposal from Otium Entertainment Group to discuss CCFC returning to the Ricoh Arena under such an arrangement.
"ACL indicated that they wished to put past disagreements behind them, draw a line in the sand and enter any discussions without prejudice or preconceptions. Whilst at this stage it is nothing more than an offer of discussions it is we believe a step in the right direction.
"We communicated the ACL response to [Coventry chief executive] Tim Fisher who has assured us that he will consult with the club's owners as to where they can take it from here.
"We would urge Tim Fisher and Joy Seppala to take into consideration the hopes and views of many thousands of Sky Blue fans and to respond to this opportunity positively. We would urge SISU/Otium to make an immediate approach to ACL to begin the rental discussions."
Coventry are expected to take more than 3,500 away fans to their match at Port Vale this afternoon.
Robert Summerscales
