Nottingham Forest have reached an agreement with City to buy the City Ground – StadiumDB.com

Nottingham Forest have reached a major milestone by securing an agreement to purchase the land on which their stadium, the City Ground, is located. This step is crucial for the club’s future as it plans to expand and upgrade its ground.

Unsuccessful lease negotiations

The City Ground has been home to Nottingham Forest since 1898. Until now, the club leased the ground from Nottingham City Council under a contract that was due to expire in 33 years. Extending the lease for 250 years was considered critical to allow the club to proceed with stadium expansion plans.

However, negotiations ran into difficulties, particularly after the club’s promotion to the Premier League, which led the city council to demand higher fees. Reports suggested that following the club’s promotion to the Premier League, The council sought an increase in fees from £250,000 a year to around £1m.

© Harry Edmo

“Yes” to the sale

In July 2024 Nottingham City Council has agreed to sell the club’s ground. The decision was made after lengthy negotiations to protect the interests of both the club and the residents of the city. The city council, led by Councilor Neghat Khan, decided that selling the land was the best option to allow the club to continue with its ambitious plans to expand the stadium, while bringing significant financial benefits to the city.

Nottingham Forest plans to increase the stadium’s capacity from the current 29,550 seats to 40,000. As part of these plans, they intend to expand the Bridgford Stand by a further 5,000 seats and replace the Peter Taylor Stand with a two-tier structure with a capacity of 10,000. In addition, the club plans to create new public spaces, a club shop and car park, as already presented in July 2022. The authority has also granted planning permission for up to 170 residential units. However, the club do not yet have planning permission to extend the Bridgford Stand.

© Harry Edmo

Club announcement

Following today’s comments from the leader of the City Council, the Club would like to clarify the situation for supporters and interested parties regarding the freehold for The City Ground. For absolute clarity, we are continuing to work on the terms of a conditional agreement to purchase the freehold.

Any decision to purchase the freehold will be fully conditional on Nottingham Forest first receiving the relevant permissions which will enable us to deliver our hugely ambitious plans for significantly increased stadium capacity, world-class hospitality facilities and associated substantial real estate development in the vicinity. Our discussions remain confidential and the club will inform fans when significant progress has been made can be read in a press release issued by the club.