Reading's next Championship opponents, Coventry City, are left fearing what the future holds as they have been served an eviction notice from the Coventry Building Soceity Arena.

A proud club with rich heritage in the upper echelons of English football, the last 20 years have been difficult for the Sky Blues with spells in the fourth tier, seasons spent playing away from the city and near oblivion and administration.

In 2013 the club played home matches over 30 miles away in Northampton, and from 2019 until 2021 they played in Birmingham after failing to reach an agreement with landlords Wasps Rugby.

Wasps, who moved to the city in 2014 despite being a London-based entity, entered administration this year and the ground is now owned by former Newcastle United chairman Mike Ashley.

A controversial figure on Tyneside, the Sports Direct chief owned the Magpies for over a decade and oversaw years of stagnation at St James' Park.

It broke during the week that Frasers Group, Ashley's company, had served an eviction notice on the Sky Blues as the club had failed to agree on terms.

In reply, the club released a statement:"Coventry City can confirm media reports that it received an eviction notice from Frasers Group, new owners of the Coventry Building Society Arena, on Friday afternoon.

"Following the Frasers Group acquisition of the stadium from administrators, Coventry City have been told that we must agree a new licence to play at the Arena.

Reading Chronicle:

"We were surprised to learn of this intention by Frasers Group, given that discussions with Coventry City prior to the completion of their purchase of the Arena led us to understand the existing terms would continue unchanged with Frasers Group as the new owners of the Arena.

"Coventry City Football Club has an existing long-term licence to play at the Arena, which was agreed in March 2021 to run until 2031.

"Frasers Group have now presented to Coventry City a new agreement with new commercial terms, which have been presented to us without any dialogue or negotiations, and are less favourable to the Football Club. In addition, this licence would only run until May 2023.

"Frasers Group have said they would negotiate for beyond May 2023, but this leaves us without the security and certainty that our current deal provides to us and our fans.

"To confirm, Coventry City are happy to continue under terms of the current licence which we already have in place to play at the Arena.

"Following Frasers Group’s purchase of the Arena, one of the great assets of the City of Coventry, they stated they were "looking forward to working with Coventry City Football Club".

"Coventry City hope that they will act on those words for the good of the Arena, the Football Club, our fans and the City and community that they are now part of.

Reading Chronicle:

"Coventry City had envisaged being able to deal with this situation internally, but following media reports this morning, we will continue to keep supporters updated regarding the situation going forward and hope that we will continue to be able to welcome our fans to our home at the Coventry Building Society Arena."

Already a challenging period, the club were forced to reschedule early home matches after the pitch was left unplayable following the Commonwealth Games in the summer.

Mark Robins' side are next up for Reading, travelling to RG2 on Saturday.