Exclusive: Nottingham Forest plan on brink of collapse after £250m demand

Nottingham Forest chiefs are ready to scrap their stadium expansion plans after a £250million demand from their local council, sources have told Football Insider.

Forest are eager to expand the City Ground to a capacity of over 40,000, but talks around the project have completely stalled.

The ground’s capacity is currently 30,500 but the club is keen to expand to grow the club’s profile and increase their matchday revenue streams.

However, Forest are currently involved in a dispute with the Nottingham City council over a new lease for their stadium.

As revealed by The Athletic, Forest are now considering building a new 50,000-capacity stadium and ripping up their current expansion plans.

Nottingham Forest plan on brink of collapse amid £250m demand

The dispute hinges on the Nottingham council wanting to charge £250million in rent for a new 250-year lease of the City Ground.

Football Insider understands that, while the increase in rent would only cost Forest £1million per year, it is a stark increase of almost five times what they currently pay.

Work has already begun at the City Ground to prepare to expand the venue to a capacity of 40,000. In their 2022-23 accounts, Forest stated that “the club continued to invest significant amounts of time and money in the redevelopment project at the City Ground.”

However, Forest are growing impatient and want a stadium plan in place as soon as possible in anticipation of new regulation changes in the Premier League.

From the 2025-26 season onwards, top-flight clubs can spend up to 85 percent of their overall revenue on wages, transfer fees and agent fees.