Minister first-hand on Forest venue plans

Article posted by Coliseum, July 21^st, 2021

Image: Nottingham Forest

The MP of Rushcliffe (UK), Ruth Edwards, recently invited Nigel Huddleston, the Minister for Sport and Tourism at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport in United Kingdom, to The City Ground in England – home of the association football club Nottingham Forest – to showcase the plans for the redevelopment of the stadium.

‘Nottingham Forest’ stated that the visit was hosted by Nottingham Forest Chairman, Nicholas Randall, QC, and former player, Manager and Chairman, Frank Clark.

The Nottingham Forest Football Club, often referred to as Nottingham Forest or just Forest, are an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Founded in 1865, Forest has played home matches at the City Ground since 1898.

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The City Ground is a football stadium in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England (UK), on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898, and has 30,445 seats.

‘Nottingham Forest’ further stated that the visit included a tour of The City Ground and Randall provided an overview of the plans for the development of the new Peter Taylor Stand.

In the year 2019, Forest set out their plans to give their home a significant facelift, with increasing the capacity of the Peter Taylor Stand a central feature. Seating plans for the new stand were revealed at the end of 2019, with more than 8,000 ‘standard’ seats split over three tiers.

Stated Randall, “We were honored to host Nigel Huddleston MP, the Sports Minister, and Ruth Edwards, MP, to show them around The City Ground and explain our plans for the future of the stadium. We continue to work with our partners and stakeholders to help shape the club in the best long-term interests of our fans and the local community. We have worked hard and invested heavily in preparing our planning submissions and look forward to moving the project forward in the coming months.”

Added Randall, “This is an important strategic investment by the owner Evangelos Marinakis. Marinakis and everybody at the club are fully aware that we are merely custodians. Securing Category 1 Academy status and progressing these ambitious plans for the stadium are examples of how seriously the owner takes his responsibilities.”

Minister Huddleston observed, “I would like to say thank you for what Nottingham Forest have done during COVID because the club, like many across the country, have shown themselves to be embedded within their local community and really helping out. It is a club with a proud history and today I’ve been hearing about great plans for the future. As Sports Minister, I want to hear what’s going on not only at the national level but also at the local club level.”

Added Huddleston, “We have amazing facilities and grounds up and down the country but we do need to refresh the offering and what I’ve seen is really impressive. In this day and age we need to do a little bit more in terms of hospitality and event offerings to make sure we’re fit for purpose in this modern era.”

MP Edwards noted, “I’ve bought Nigel Huddleston here to hear more about the history of Forest and the plans for the future. I can’t wait for the stadium to be full again and the plans for the new stand are brilliant. They are really important to the club and the fans, and to get more people here into the local economy and supporting those local businesses. I think the club has done a wonderful job of supporting the community throughout COVID. It’s great to see the plans for the new stand and also for the build around it. I just want to see them being built now!”

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