Nottingham Forest are facing counter-allegations that they are to blame for having “stalled” talks in the dispute that is threatening the future of the City Ground.
As reported by The Athletic, the club are giving serious consideration to leaving their home of the last 125 years in favour of a new 50,000-seat stadium elsewhere in the city.
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Toton, six miles out of the city centre, is the favoured site and Forest’s chairman, Tom Cartledge, says he blames the club’s landlords, Nottingham City Council, because of a dispute over extending the City Ground lease.
Cartledge said he was “frustrated” by the council’s alleged reluctance to enter into any dialogue and said Forest were being asked to pay almost four times more than their current lease of £250,000 a year.
That criticism has stung the council into releasing a statement in which it challenges Forest’s version of events and says it is the club, not themselves, who have stalled the talks.
“The City Ground lease has been discussed for a long time now and it’s important to say again that the council remains committed to finding a solution which works for both parties,” it reads. “Unfortunately, we’ve had little back from the club recently by way of negotiation — this is highly unusual in a property transaction.
“We’ve been very clear with Forest that the council is legally bound by the need to seek best value for taxpayers — no local authority can subsidise a Premier League football club. We’re seeking market rate for the site, nothing more, which is in line with our statutory requirements.
“The council is ready to continue negotiations, but we can only do that if Forest come back with meaningful comparable evidence on their valuation of the site, which has been repeatedly requested. At present, we’ve simply been told what the club is not prepared to pay without a constructive way forward being proposed.”
Forest say they need a longer agreement before they can embark on plans, initially announced in 2019, to upgrade and expand the City Ground, with the eventual “master plan” being a 40,000-capacity stadium.
As it is, the club are operating on the terms of an old lease, which has 33 years to run, and say they will not be able to begin redevelopment of their current home for as long as that is the case.
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“The rent, if you add it up for the next 33 years, comes to about £9.5million,” said Cartledge “The proposed rent the council wants us to pay over 250 years is more than £250m. So if we are talking openly about the Football Association’s (FA) desire for financial stability and the future of clubs to be secure, it is simply wrong for us to sign up and put this club in a position where we have to pay £250m in rent to stay here.”
Instead, Forest’s intention is to embark on a consultation period with fans to discuss whether they should leave their 30,000-capacity stadium for a new ground elsewhere in the city. Toton, close to the Nottinghamshire-Derbyshire border, is a serious option, on land that was initially earmarked for the now-abated HS2 rail project.
One city councillor, Steve Battlemuch, a long-time Forest fan, responded to Cartledge’s comments by writing on X that he disputed the club’s version of events.
“All Forest fans want to concentrate on for the next ten days is staying up. That’s the priority. However, I urge fans not to fall for the hype that the council is responsible for any potential move. The negotiations are stalled and it’s not the council that’s stalled them.”
A spokesperson for the council added: “We’re proud of Nottingham Forest’s history as two-time winners of the European Cup, and we recognise the positive attention, visitors and income this has brought to the city over the past five decades.
“Getting promoted back to the Premier League in 2022, with the subsequent celebrations in Old Market Square, will live long in fans’ memories. We’re very lucky to have the successful sporting clubs we do in Nottingham, and so it’s disappointing to hear that Forest might be looking to relocate.”
GO DEEPER
Special report: Why Forest may abandon City Ground 'masterplan' for new stadium
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