Nottingham Forest chairman Nicholas Randall, KC, has said the club hope to "get the final sign-off on everything this summer" in regard to their City Ground redevelopment plans.
The Reds want to give their home a significant facelift and transform the stadium into a world-class venue in a multi-million-pound project. Phase one centres on knocking down and rebuilding the Peter Taylor Stand, doubling its capacity to 10,000 and taking the overall number of seats in the stadium overall to 35,000.
The scheme was first announced in 2019, and July last year saw Rushcliffe Borough Council finally give approval for the project to go ahead.
READ MORE: City Ground redevelopment: What we know about Forest plans
READ MORE: Forest chairman hits back at transfer strategy 'nonsense'
And in a wide-ranging interview published on Youtube, Randall has provided an update on the latest in the club's ambitious plans.
"First of all I don't think we've ever gone on record and said when the project was going to be completed for a very good reason, because we could never predict the specific timelines because we're not in control of the process," he said.
"In terms of where we've got to, I think if you talk to Crystal Palace, I think we've come much further than they have in a much shorter space of time. We have got the resolution to grant planning permission, so it doesn't have to go back to the planning committee at Rushcliffe, which is a very significant step to have achieved.
"We've spent millions on this project so far. The resources are still there to continue. As you will realise, some of our negotiations are confidential and without prejudice, so I cannot identify the specific area at the moment on which we are having to work and negotiate hard.
"All I can say is it's something to which we owe it to the club to make sure we are not entering into any arrangements which are unfair on the club because they could have repercussions for many years to come. I'm not going to say anything more than that, but we are optimistic that we will get that sorted reasonably quickly. That we will get the final sign-off on everything this summer.
"We have then said there is a period, and by definition, this is not going to go on forever because the planning permission itself will be time-limited, but we need to make sure that the work is done at the right time. We need to avoid what has happened to quite a few clubs historically when they are developing their stadium. Things go wrong for them on the pitch and the two are actually related and we cannot allow that to happen
"The timing is partly a sporting decision and we need to know that we have a mature enough squad and way of playing which means that by having the stadium where we would lose the full atmosphere of the City Ground for a period, that it doesn't have a significant material adverse impact on the team and its performance."
When asked whether relegation would impact the club's plans, he replied: "Not at the moment, not to my knowledge I mean if we are relegated we have a simple job which is to get straight back up as quickly as we can and I think that everyone here knows that. You can't halt everything at the club just because of a relegation and we wouldn't do that."
READ NEXT
