Evangelos Marinakis, Nottingham Forest’s owner, has revealed intentions to renovate the Reds’ City Ground stadium.
Evangelos Marinakis, Nottingham Forest’s owner, has announced his long-term goal of increasing the City Ground’s capacity to 50,000.
The Reds first revealed plans to renovate their stadium in 2019, which included expanding the number of seats to 38,000. Earlier this week, chairman Tom Cartledge provided an update noting that the proposed reconstruction will increase capacity to 42,000.
Marinakis has stated that he wants to go beyond that. And it is a strong signal that he believes Forest’s future will remain on the banks of the Trent, despite earlier discussing the prospect of building a new stadium elsewhere.
“Over the years, we have done a lot for this region. “I believe we need to build a larger stadium now,” Marinakis told the BBC.
“The first priority is to do it on the City Ground. there is where the team belongs, and there is where tradition exists.
“That is what we want to do. That’s why I’ve already spent a lot of money on the City Ground, which you can see is very different.
“We have a lot of supporters and a long waiting list for season tickets. I am confident that a 50,000-seat stadium will be packed with fans cheering for our team and our passion.
“This is extremely significant. It is critical for the team and, most importantly, for the town of Nottingham. This is something I hope to be able to complete and have one of the top stadiums in England in the next years. This is my primary objective right now.”
Earlier this year, it was unclear whether the Reds would remain at the City Ground. A conflict with Nottingham City Council, the landowner, over rent and a new lease prompted Marinakis and Cartledge to publicly broach the prospect of relocating.
In July, however, senior councillors agreed to sell the property to the club. Cartledge stated during the season’s first Fan Advisory Board meeting earlier this month that an agreement in principle had been reached.
