Evangelos Marinakis ready to move Nottingham Forest to new stadium – sources
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis plans on moving away from the City Ground to expand his ambitious vision for the future.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, senior correspondent Pete O’Rourke revealed that Forest feel they need to move to a new ground to increase their revenue and compete with clubs above them in the Premier League.
O’Rourke explained that, despite the decision being a “tough” one, Marinakis is ambitious and wants to plough more money into the club, with a new stadium allowing him to do so.
As revealed by Football Insider, Forest chiefs are ready to rip up their expansion plans after the council offered a £250million lease of the stadium grounds.
Forest had been eager to expand the City Ground’s capacity by 10,000 seats to over 40,000, but talks around the project have completely stalled.
Nottingham Forest plan new stadium as ‘tough decision’ on cards
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire told Football Insider that abandoning the City Ground in favour of a new stadium is seen as the “nuclear option” at Forest.
Backlash from fans is feared with many rallying against the club’s idea to leave behind the history and emotion attached to the City Ground.
Building a new stadium would be a costly investment, but Marinakis is said to be desperate to help the club progress and grow, with this seen as the next step.
A project to expand the City Ground to a capacity of 40,000 had been on the cards, but constant delays meant the club chiefs began to consider other ideas.
Similarities have been drawn to Everton’s move away from Goodison Park to the new Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium.
The Toffees are set to arrive at a new 52,888-seater stadium in 2025, leaving behind the history of Goodison in search of further revenue and income.
In other news, Tottenham have begun talks over a potential deal to sign Morgan Gibbs-White.
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