Premier League club Nottingham Forest is reportedly considering pushing back plans to redevelop its City Ground stadium.
Forest’s plans to expand the City Ground were given the green light by Rushcliffe Borough Council in July last year. The club’s promotion to the Premier League last season gave renewed impetus to the project, which will initially focus on rebuilding the Peter Taylor Stand, bringing its capacity up to 10,000.
The club has also been seeking to improve the other three sides of the stadium, including the extension of the Bridgford Stand, with a long-term goal of bringing the City Ground’s current capacity of around 30,000 up to 38,000.
Forest had planned on starting the work this summer but The Athletic has reported that this could be pushed back to 2024 due to complexities relating to the planning permission and other considerations.
Knocking down the Peter Taylor Stand ahead of its rebuild would effectively leave the City Ground operating with three stands while the work is carried out. Forest is said to be weighing up when to commence the project to limit the potential impact of any temporary capacity reduction.
Expanding the Peter Taylor Stand would increase the City Ground’s capacity from 30,000 to 35,000, ahead of the planned further increase to 38,000. Forest has also applied for permission in principle to build a 13-storey apartment building next to the stadium.
Forest submitted a planning application to the council back in December 2019, but there had been a number of consultations and changes to the plans since then. Work was initially intended to commence in the summer of 2020, but no new timeline has been confirmed.
After the council approved the redevelopment last summer, Forest said it would step up talks on the delivery of the project. The club hailed the council’s decision as a “significant landmark” to redevelop the City Ground site.
The overall cost of the project is reportedly set to exceed £94m (€107m/$114m). The club has previously said that the new Peter Taylor Stand will feature a museum, a new club shop, a range of hospitality lounge options, restaurants and executive boxes. New concourses will also be created for general-admission supporters, along with improved facilities for disabled supporters and a significant increase in wheelchair spaces.
In June 2019, Forest secured a new 250-year lease to play at the City Ground. The club has been working with architects Benoy on the renovation project.
