Keith Wyness: Nottingham Forest can seal half-price stadium deal after new ‘threats’

Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has backed Nottingham Forest and owner Evangelos Marinakis to buy the freehold to the City Ground for “£4-5million”.

Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – claimed the city council have “miscalculated the threat from Marinakis”, who baulked at their early demands for a new 250-year lease.

Forest failed to strike an agreement with the Nottingham City Council after they demanded £250million for a 250-year land lease – £1million per season.

on 11 May, senior figures at the club are now prepared to rip up their development plans and move away from the City Ground to build a new venue outside Nottingham.

The council have already returned with a new proposal after the relocation threat emerged, offering to sell the freehold of the City Ground for around £10million.

Striking such a deal would allow Forest to press on with their plans to add almost 10,000 seats and take the capacity past 40,000 at the riverside venue.

Nottingham Forest backed to seal ‘£4million’ City Ground deal

Wyness insisted the city are in a “poor negotiating position” and backed Marinakis to seal an even cheaper deal.

“That is vastly different to what was being asked for by the city to start with.

“It seems they have realised that they could’ve miscalculated the threat from Marinakis. He is quite capable of carrying those threats out.

“When you look at the valuation for the freehold, from what I’ve looked at, that still seems to be at the top end.

“I think the city have got themselves into a pretty poor negotiating position now.

“Marinakis is going to force it through and get them to come down, even from the £10million offer.

“A Premier League club in the heart of the city brings so much economic value.

“I think the council are going to end up dropping their asking price to about £4-5million for the freehold.

“Forest will go ahead and redevelop the City Ground and go from there.

“This is a case of someone miscalculating how to deal with Premier League owners.”