Olympics deal for Ricoh Arena

The Ricoh Arena in Coventry has signed a hospitality deal with Premier Inn to sell hotel rooms during the Olympics Games.

The venue – which will be known as the City of Coventry Stadium during the Games – has agreed overnight packages for visitors to stay at five Premier Inn hotels in the city.

The deals will include visitors staying at Premier Inn hotels at the Belgrade Plaza and Earlsdon Park in the city centre, the Kenpas Highway on the A45, Coombe Fields Road in Ansty and near junction 2 of the M6 as well as receiving a match ticket and a hot snack and drink during the game for only £69 per person.

Daniel Gidney, chief executive of the Ricoh Arena, said the Ricoh is the only venue that has the opportunity to offer a ticket and an overnight stay with Thomas Cook’s permission.

“Excitement is already building for the London 2012 Olympic Football Tournament and we want to make the visit to Coventry and Warwickshire for visitors from across the world as easy and enjoyable as possible,” he said.

“We have struck a deal with Premier Inn which is fantastic value for visitors to stay overnight at one of five of their hotels in the city as well as receive a ticket for either the preliminaries, quarter-final or bronze final games and refreshments from the kiosks.

“We believe this is a wonderful way of fully enjoying this historic occasion and it will give people the chance to visit tourist attractions in Coventry and Warwickshire as well.

“Momentum is building towards the world’s greatest sporting spectacle and we feel privileged to be the only Midlands venue hosting an Olympic event at London 2012.”

Neil Sehmbhy from the National Sales team at Premier Inn said they were delighted to be providing accommodation at such a special time in Coventry’s history.

“The Olympics will put Coventry on the international stage and these overnight packages provide affordable quality accommodation at competitive prices,” he said.

“We are the UK and Ireland’s biggest and fastest growing hotel company and have five Premier Inns in Coventry for people to choose from which are all a relatively short distance away from where the football matches are being staged.

“This is our first official agreement with the Ricoh Arena and we hope this will be the start of a long and fruitful partnership.”