Ricoh Arena

We easily found the stadium using the directions from our book and again parked easily at the stadium, which has a casino attached to it. It looks like a convention centre as well, and I know that they host concerts there. Though new, it does lack character, especially as it sits out of the town centre and just off the motorway.

The shop is off to the side next to the ticket office. It is a small shop, but packed with items for sale, and we did enjoy the variety of items, including a car booster seat that we had never seen before and three designs of garden gnomes. The ladies in the shop told us how we might get into the ground and we followed their advice and headed into the main entrance to try our luck. Boy did we get lucky. The very kind man working at the reception desk gave us a tour of the ground that you couldn't have even paid for. We saw everything! We learned about the club, we were given some old programs and all in all we were treated royally. The boys and I were just amazed.

The Elephant is on the Coventry Coat of Arms

It is spotless, partly as the players are stictly forbidden to wear shoes inside the  changing rooms

The nearby Jaguar factory sponsor the seats for the players

A view from the lounge, where you can enjoy matchday hospitality

Some sources state that the elephant is a symbol for strength. Others claim it is a religious symbol for Christ, and is related to dragon-slaying. I doubt we will ever know. Sadly, the real historical meaning appears to have been lost.