Nottingham City Council have confirmed that an agreement in principle is in place for Nottingham Forest to purchase the freehold of the land the City Ground sits on.
The Athletic reported last week that an arrangement was close to keep Forest on the banks of the Trent, after months of uncertainty over where their long-term home would be.
At a meeting on Monday, Labour Council Leader Neghat Khan confirmed that a deal was in place, although it is yet to be officially ratified.
Previous negotiations over a leasehold agreement for the City Ground had broken down over the amount of money the club were prepared to pay. The current agreement is for an annual payment of £250,000 for the leasehold, but the Council had proposed a figure of £850,000, rising to £1million, which the club believed was exorbitant.
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Both owner Evangelos Marinakis and chairman Tom Cartledge had publicly indicated that their favoured option might be to build a new stadium, with discussions having taken place over a site in Toton, outside the city and close to the Nottinghamshire-Derbyshire border.
However, there was significant backlash from the club’s supporters about the prospect of leaving Forest’s iconic home of over 125 years. That, combined with the desire of Khan, who took over as council leader in May, to bring a swift resolution to the saga, brought the two parties back together to negotiate a new deal.
While those previous talks concerned the club renting the land, this arrangement is for them to purchase it. The exact terms of the agreement have not been confirmed, but The Athletic revealed in May that the site had been valued at between £8-10m.
The agreement has not been officially signed, but it is expected to be ratified at an executive board meeting of Nottingham City Council next week.
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(DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)
