Nottingham Forest fans to face 'enormous' cost of City Ground plans after Council intervention

Nottingham Forest fans could face the consequences of more expensive stadium plans after Rushcliffe Borough Council's requests.

That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider that the council have made "perfectly reasonable" requirements around the redevelopment of the City Ground.

The Reds have been given the green light for plans to increase their overall capacity from 31,000 to 52,000, with the cost expected to be upwards of £990million.

However, with the expected addition of supporters on matchdays, the Rushcliffe Borough Council want Forest to make additions to the surrounding area to navigate heavier footfall.

Planning conditions state that demolition work cannot begin at the City Ground until new plans are put in place, potentially including a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the River Trent.

Many feel that this is unfair ask of Forest, but not everyone shares that same opinion when it comes to the club's stadium being redeveloped.

Local council make 'perfectly reasonable' infrastructure requests at the City Ground

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson believes that Forest's "deep pockets" won't make the requirements an issue, but the overall cost may no longer be worth it.

"There'll be an open negotiation about how they get the planning through and everything that goes with it," he explained.

"Some of the budgets that have been spoken about by Forest suggests that they've got quite deep pockets in this redevelopment. And if that's the case, then they can afford to include things like that.

"I think it's perfectly reasonable that they would have infrastructure in the mix of things that are required to make it make sense. Otherwise, the whole thing won't work.

"So yes, but whether it's financially viable, that's a different question. And that's always the question we've spoken about time and time again, in terms of some of these new stadia projects.

"How do they make financial sense, especially given that the fans are very keen not to end up with enormous increases of cost."

Can Nottingham Forest reach an agreement with the council?

Supporters are understandably sceptical of Forest having to build an entirely new footbridge to be able to redevelop their stadium.

It would be massively surprising if Evanglos Marinakis were to bow down to the requests and fund the entire project by himself.

Keith Wyness, speaking to Football Insider, believes that Forest have every right to expect financial help from the council when it comes to their requests.

Of course, improving crowd flow in a footballing space is incredibly important, but it shouldn't just be on Forest to solve the situation.