Nottingham Forest set new '£30m target' as Evangelos Marinakis dreams of 50,000-seater City Ground

The first step of Nottingham Forest’s City Ground expansion plans has been approved, but Evangelos Marinakis’ ambitions go much further than the proposed redevelopment.

Marinakis has committed to a £130m investment to transform the City Ground, expanding the stadium’s capacity by 5,000 seats initially.

The council approval comes after the City Ground development plans were delayed to allow England to host Senegal in June, but even now, there are still hoops that Marinakis needs to jump through to get the work started.

So what do the Reds expect to gain from the expanded Peter Taylor stand? Nottingham Forest News has spoken to football finance expert Adam Williams to discover the details.

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How much Nottingham Forest could earn from the expanded City Ground

Marinakis has been the driving force of the stadium plans as there has always been an understanding that Forest can attract more fans than the City Ground holds, presenting a lucrative opportunity for the Greek businessman.

Speaking to Williams, the revenue options become clear and not just from the increased ticket sales in the Peter Taylor stand.

He said: “This phase of the development might only be adding 5,000 in capacity in terms of the volume of seats, but it’s going to have an outsized impact on revenue. If you’re doing a pro-rata calculation, you’d look at Forest’s current matchday income, divide it by 30,000 then multiply that by 35,000 to see their matchday income when the new stand opens.

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“So that would give them a little under £17m in matchday income compared to the total in 2023-24, which was £14.4m.

“But in reality, the value of the new stand is going to be much higher. There’s surely going to be more of an emphasis on premium experiences and hospitality, for starters. They have already increased prices. I think by the time the new stand is open, they’ll have a £30m target all-told, I suspect.

“On top of that, you’ve got the residential aspect of the redevelopment – it’s hard to calculate what the financial benefit to the club is of that, but it will add up significantly.

“Basically, every new stadium development these days has a real estate function to it, and that’s because it can be extraordinarily lucrative. It means your asset is being used 365 days per year, rather than just on 25 or so matchdays throughout the calendar.”

The Forest owner will be delighted by the variety of revenue streams available from a relatively small expansion. However, it’s well known that Marinakis has much larger growth planned.

The reality behind Evangelos Marinakis’ 50,000-capacity dream

While true that Forest’s history persuaded Marinakis to buy the club, the businessman isn’t one to settle for what he has and this City Ground expansion will be no different.

For Marinakis to achieve his dream of a 50,000-capacity stadium, Williams expects that there will be further complications.

He said: “In terms of how much it will cost to raise the capacity to 40,000 and then ultimately Marinakis’ dream of 50,000, it will depend on the makeup of the plans. I suspect it will be proportionately cheaper than the Peter Taylor Stand, but you’d need to speak to an architect and Forest’s finance department.

“If you do eventually go to 50,000 and can fill out the stadium at that scale, however, you’re going to need to pledge a lot more money to pay for infrastructure, transport links and so on.

“It sounds like they’re only having to commit £1.2m as a result of this development, but I predict it will be much, much more at 40,000 and eventually 50,000. You’re easily talking eight figures.”

Marinakis’ ambition for the City Ground comes alongside plenty of complications, but his desire to push forward with the plans will continue to excite Reds fans.

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