City Ground land available for sale to Nottingham Forest following council vote

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 concluding 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 completed quickly.

After months of uncertainty over whether the club would be forced to move to a new location, council leader Neghat Khan now hopes the deal will see the City Ground transformed into a “world-class” venue that both the club and the city can be proud of.

“I hope we see an even better, world-class site on the banks of the River Trent in the not too distant future,” said Labour’s Khan, who took over as 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 wants 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.”

Previous negotiations over a lease deal for the City Ground collapsed, 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 to £1 million.

That prompted Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis and chairman Tom Cartledge to publicly discuss a possible move from the grounds where they have played since 1898.

Talk of a move to Toton, close to the Derbyshire border, has been met with dismay from some supporters.

But further negotiations have led to an agreement on 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, a short walk from the stadium. But, as previously reported by The Athleticthe land was independently valued at £10 million.

“It’s great that Forest will be staying in what is a historic place for Nottingham and the club,” said Khan. “I know a lot of Forest fans have struggled to imagine the club leaving the City Ground.

“It’s a really important and significant moment for the city. It’s great that Forest, Notts County and Notts CCC (County Cricket Club) will all remain close to each other.

“It’s great for the fans too because they have a place that’s easy for them to get to, and it’s a place they have emotional and historical ties to. You can’t recreate the famous nights the club had at the City Ground. If you move, that history doesn’t 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 they wanted to negotiate a freehold purchase — which was always an option on the table.”

Forest 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 – which would take the City Ground’s capacity to over 40,000 – as well as adding a further 5,000 seats to the Bridgford Stand.

The situation is not entirely straightforward as, as the stadium technically lies outside the city boundary, Forest also need to agree certain aspects of the planning permission with Rushcliffe Borough Council.

Forest’s position also remains that they will not purchase the freehold unless all conditions associated with this have been met. Negotiations over the final details will now take place between the club and board officials.

“I know the club are cautious about saying too much until we have legally signed all the documents. The next step is to sign everything and then Forest will negotiate with Rushcliffe Council about the planning situation,” Khan added. “I can’t see that as a problem but it’s not for me to say as I’m not on the Rushcliffe council.

“But I’m confident it will happen. That’s a really positive thing. I said it would happen and I’ve delivered on that, so it’s 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 agreement to effectively lease the land to Forest would have been preferable. But she says the money raised from the sale of the freehold will make a positive impact.

“It’s a loss of revenue for the board. But financial stability is at the heart of what we need to do. We need to find £172m over the next three years, so this will be a significant part of that journey,” says Khan, who also believes the stadium redevelopment will benefit Forest hugely.

“When you look at the spending rules in football now, a lot of emphasis is on revenue and generating as much of it as possible.

“The more revenue Forest generate, the better players they can sign to help them remain a competitive Premier League team and one day even challenge for more. That’s what we all want to see.”

(Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)