Yahoo News Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis sent strong message about future of City Ground
Nottingham Forest fans have made it clear to Evangelos Marinakis they want the club to stay at the City Ground.
Marinakis was present as Reds supporters chanted ‘stand up for the City Ground’ and ‘Toton's a s***hole, I want to stay here’ during the first half of their Premier League clash against Chelsea on home soil on Saturday evening.
Toton has been suggested as a potential site for a new stadium for the club amid uncertainty over its future at the City Ground.
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The Reds are considering relocating to a new site amid a dispute with Nottingham City Council , who own the land the City Ground is built on. There is an ongoing row between the parties over rent and a new lease.
A move would see Forest abandon plans, first announced in 2019, to redevelop the City Ground and increase its capacity. Chairman Tom Cartledge said this week that “due diligence” was being done on “several” alternative sites, including in Toton.
Marinakis was asked about his dream for the Reds when speaking to BBC Sport earlier this week. He said he wants to “build a big stadium”, although it is not clear whether he was referring to a new one or redeveloping the City Ground.
“I think we have achieved great things,” the Greek said. “Now you will see that we want to build a big stadium and a new training centre.
“It is a great thing. It is a team that inspires us and we want to do more. You will see in the years to come that we also have big dreams for Forest, and it is the right thing to have such dreams.”
Forest’s existing lease on the City Ground site has 33 years left on it and talks about a new 250-year one have hit a stalemate. The council are said to want to increase the rent to £1 million from £250,000.
