Evangelos Marinakis: Nottingham Forest owner wants 50,000-seat City Ground redevelopment

Nottingham Forest hope to one day extend the City Ground into a 50,000-seat stadium, says Reds owner Evangelos Marinakis.

The expansion would go beyond Forest’s existing plans to increase the ground’s capacity from around 30,000 to 42,000 through the rebuilding of the Peter Taylor Stand and extension of the Bridgford Stand.

Those plans and Forest’s future at the venue on the banks of the River Trent had been put in jeopardy when negotiations between Nottingham City Council – which owns the land where the stadium stands – and the club collapsed over increased rent demands earlier this year.

A deal to sell the land to the Premier League club, which was agreed in July, appears to have secured the Reds’ future at the ground they have called home for 126 years.

“What we need to do is have a bigger stadium,” Marinakis told BBC East Midlands Today.

“We have a lot of supporters and a huge waiting list for season tickets and I’m sure a 50,000 stadium will be full watching our team and our passion.”