NOTTINGHAM FOREST could be set to leave the City Ground for a new 50,000-seater stadium, according to reports.
Forest chairman Tom Cartledge has been attempting to push through plans to expand the club’s existing ground from 30,445 to 40,000.
He plans to achieve this through two new stands funded by owner Evangelos Marinakis.
However, according to The Athletic, Forest have failed to agree a new lease with Nottingham City Council – who own the land where the City Ground is situated.
This has led the Premier League side to consider their options, one of which is to build a brand new 50,000-capacity stadium.
The move would see them leave what has been their home since 1898.
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Cartledge has revealed Toton, six miles south west of the city of Nottingham, is a potential location for this project.
He said: “That (Toton) is one of several potential spots.
“It’s not as easy as to say, ‘Here’s a piece of land, go and build a stadium’. There are highways, transport and connectivity issues.
“But it’s fair to say we are progressing due diligence on different sites.”
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Forest, who were deducted four points earlier this season for breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules, insist Marinakis has the funds to move ahead with infrastructure projects for both a stadium and training ground.
This comes after a deal to purchase land for a new training ground off the eastbound A52 recently fell through due to “a financial disparity between what we believe the land is worth and what the land-owners are asking”.
Nottingham-born Cartledge, who has urged the fans to believe “something amazing” could be built, added: “Mr Marinakis is incredibly ambitious. If we did something with those two things together — the training ground and the stadium — you do that only once.
“When it comes to these big decisions, he takes an enormous amount of pride and responsibility in getting it right.”
Forest’s uncertainty over their long-term home has led to the club pausing work on the “corner boxes” of executive suites that were set to be erected either side of the Trent End.
Work began in February as Forest moved one of the floodlights as part of the £7million project.
But the club now want more clarity from the council “before we spend significant money on capital projects”.
Forest have 33 years left on their lease of the land the City Ground is built on.
They also still face the prospect of being relegated back down to the Championship after two seasons in the top flight.
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Nuno Espirito Santo’s men sit just three points above the drop zone with two games remaining.
They host Chelsea on Saturday, before heading to Turf Moor to take on Burnley on the final day.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
