Nottingham City Council has voted to make the land on which the City Ground stands available for sale to Nottingham Forest.
The decision represents another landmark step towards completing a deal that would see Nottingham Forest remain at the City Ground. It should allow the sale of the freehold of the land to be concluded quickly.
After months of uncertainty over whether the club might be forced to move to a new venue, council leader Neghat Khan now hopes that the agreement will lead to the City Ground being transformed into a “world class” venue that both the club and the city can be proud of.
“I do hope we will see an even better, world class venue on the banks of the River Trent in the not too distant future,” said Labour’s Khan, who took on the role of council leader two months ago.
“If you look at the country and the other Premier League grounds, Forest have fallen behind. But they have a very ambitious owner who does intend to turn it into a world class stadium and that would be fantastic for Nottingham.
“I just think this is a fantastic day for the city. We have to wait for the contracts to be signed. I understand why there might be an element of caution still. But I want to work closely with Forest to see how we can do things together that benefit the community.”
(David Rogers/Getty Images)
Previous negotiations over a leasehold agreement for the City Ground had broken down, with Forest upset at a proposal to increase their current annual payment of £250,000 to a figure that would have risen from £850,000 up to £1million.
It led to both Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis and chairman Tom Cartledge to publicly discuss a potential move away from the venue where they have played since 1898.
Talk of a move to Toton, close to the Derbyshire border, had been poorly received among some supporters.
But fresh negotiations have led to an agreement over the purchase of the freehold. The exact terms of the deal were not revealed in the public section of today’s meeting at Loxley House, just a short walk from the stadium. But, as previously reported by The Athletic, the land had been independently valued at £10million.
“It is great that Forest are going to be staying in what is a historic place for Nottingham and for the club,” said Khan. “I know a lot of Forest supporters who struggled to imagine the club leaving the City Ground.
“It is a really important, significant moment for the city. It is great that Forest, Notts County and Notts CCC (County Cricket Club) will all remain close to each other.
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“It is great for fans as well, because they have somewhere that is easy for them to get to, as well as it being a place that they have emotional and historic ties to. You cannot recreate the famous nights that the club have had at the City Ground. If you move, that history does not automatically move with you.
“This deal has been five years in the making. But I think we are there now. Negotiations broke down over the lease, but the club came back and said that they wanted to negotiate over the purchase of the freehold — which was always an option on the table.”
Forest initially made their redevelopment plans public in 2019, with the starting point being the redevelopment of the Peter Taylor Stand, to give it a capacity of 10,000 as well as adding another 5,000 seats to the Bridgford Stand.
The situation is not entirely straightforward as, because the stadium technically sits outside the city boundary, Forest must also agree certain aspects of planning permission with Rushcliffe Borough Council.
Forest’s position also remains that they will not purchase the freehold unless all conditions associated with doing so have been granted. Negotiations over the final details will now take place between the club and the council officers.
(Stephen White – CameraSport via Getty Images)
“I know the club are wary about saying too much until we have legally signed all the documents. The next step is to get everything signed and then for Forest to negotiate with Rushcliffe Council over the planning situation,” adds Khan. “I can’t see that being a problem but that is not really for me to say, as I am not part of Rushcliffe council.
“But I am confident that it will happen. This is a real positive. I said this would be done and I have delivered on what I said, so it is a win-win situation; for us, for Nottingham Forest, their supporters, for Nottingham City and the taxpayers of this city.”
Khan has previously admitted that an extension of the previous deal to effectively rent the land to Forest would have been preferable. But she says that the money raised from the sale of the freehold will make a positive impact.
“It is a loss of revenue for the council. But financial stability is at the heart of what we need to do. We need to find £172million within the next three years, so this will be a significant part of that journey,” says Khan, who also believes the redevelopment of the stadium will hugely benefit Forest.
“When you look at the spending rules in football now, a lot of emphasis is on revenue and generating as much of that as possible.
“The more revenue Forest generate, the better players they will be able to sign, to help them remain a competitive Premier League side and to, one day, even challenge for more. That is what we all want to see.”
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(Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Nottingham Forest writer for The Athletic. Previously spent 25 years at the Nottingham Post. Unsurprisingly, Nottingham born and bred. Meet me by the left lion.