Nottingham Forest are set to abandon plans to move to a new stadium as they inch in on a deal to stay at the City Ground, their historic home for the past 125 years.
Negotiations between the Reds and their landlords, Nottingham City Council, are “at an advanced stage” according to The Athletic. The article continues: “If everything goes to plan, the news will be communicated officially in the coming days.”
Forest and the city council have been at odds for some time about the lease of the City Ground, with the local administration apparently intending to raise the annual rent from £250,000 to £1 million.
Forest, meanwhile, had been offered the opportunity to buy the stadium freehold for £10 million, but were thought to be considering moving elsewhere instead, despite the club’s lengthy history at its current Trentside home. A site near Toton, many miles from Nottingham’s city centre, was suggested as an alternative.
However, according to The Athletic’s Daniel Taylor, progress has been achieved, which means Forest will soon be able to move on with plans to convert the City Ground into a 40,000-seat stadium. The Peter Taylor Stand’s development has already been extensively planned.
Taylor writes: “The council owns the land where the stadium is located, and negotiations broke out earlier this year over how much the team should pay for the lease.
“Amid a flurry of accusations and counter-claims, it was revealed that the club had spent months considering a possible location in Toton, six miles outside the city centre, for a new 50,000-capacity stadium.
“Forest’s hierarchy have been made aware that the majority of fans did not want to leave the City Ground, with anti-Toton chants being heard at their final home match of the season.”
“Some sort of announcement is now expected to happen on Monday and the early signs are that it will be positive news for the fans.”
