Nottingham Forest to ‘hammer out’ deal to overcome City Ground hurdle

Nottingham Forest are right to push for the local council to fund part of a potential project to build a new bridge near their City Ground home.

That is according to former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that owner Evangelos Marinakis won’t allow the club to fund the entire project on their own.

The Reds have seen their plans for upgrades to the City Ground granted permission by the local council, but they have been told that they must find a way to improve crowd flow issues before any work can begin.

Wyness outlined that it is not normal for clubs to be asked to pay for infrastructure surrounding their stadium, but that is the prospect that Forest are now facing.

The Crowdflow issues are currently providing an obstacle that must be overcome before the full scale of their plans can be put in place.

The City Ground will eventually be upgraded to a 52,000 capacity, at an estimated cost of around £790million. 

Nottingham Forest to push for split deal

Everton’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that Forest will try to push during negotiations to split the cost for new infrastructure. 

The upgrade surrounding the stadium does not necessarily have to be the building of a new bridge, but the council have already made it clear that it is their preference.

Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness explained that it would be hugely unusual if Forest ultimately end up paying for a new crossing over the River Trent.

“I understand what we're talking about is the potential of a new crossing. It's going to be new infrastructure for the city of Nottingham, and it may be used on maybe 25 match days during a year,” he said.

“Yet it'll be a great piece of infrastructure for Nottingham for 365 days a year. So there's a fair argument there to try and split the costs according to the usage. That sort of thing will come into play around Trent Bridge and the cricket ground as well.

“It'll come down to a discussion about what it is going to be, how big a piece of infrastructure it is, and the percentage that each one is going to pay towards it. I'd expect it to get hammered out.

“Normally, clubs don't pay for infrastructure around the stadium. But in this case, I can see a specific need for a contribution from the club, but I don't think it would be right for the club to pay for it all.

“I would expect there to be a pretty hard negotiation, but I don't fear for Mr Marinakis in those situations; he'll make his point of view known, and I'm sure there'll be a fair solution that will be reached in the end.”

Two key features to ‘maximise revenue’ at upgraded City Ground

Former Manchester City financial advisor Stefan Borson recently told Football Insider that Forest need to add a fanzone and a whole host of corporate seats as part of their upgrades at the City Ground. 

The football finance expert outlined that both would help to “maximise revenue” for the club, with fans eating and drinking in the fanzone before and after games, and corporate tickets selling at lofty finances. 

Borson made it clear that all Premier League clubs are keen to have both features in place at their home grounds, but Forest have been forced to go without both previously.

The increased capacity is sure to boost the club’s coffers significantly, but Borson is in no doubt that more can be done moving forward.