A business expert has said the expansion of Nottingham Forest's stadium would put even more money into the local economy on top of their Premier League promotion. The Reds secured promotion to the top flight after beating Huddersfield Town 1-0 in the Championship play-off final at Wembley on May 29.
An expert has said the value of promotion will go "far beyond" the £170m value of the game to Nottingham Forest, and a report from Brighton's promotion to the Premier League found it brought in £212m to the city in just one year, and that was five years ago. Hospitality venue owners and managers in Nottinghamshire have already said they expect to make more money next season.
Read more: Arnold neighbours surprised at house extension decision by council
Plans have been in the making since 2019 to redevelop the Peter Taylor stand to increase its capacity to 10,000. That would raise the total capacity of The City Ground to around 38,000.
Before promotion was secured, Forest chairman Nicholas Randall QC hinted there could be a delay to the redevelopment as work being carried out could reduce the capacity of The City Ground for Nottingham Forest's first season in the top flight since the 1998/99 season. However, bosses at Rushcliffe Borough Council have said they are working with Nottingham Forest to bring a planning barrier "to the conclusion" after the club told fans it expects the stand to be redeveloped soon.
Increasing the capacity of The City Ground would bring an even bigger boost to the local economy, according to a local business expert, especially if Nottingham Forest can stay in the Premier League for a number of seasons to come. He says expenditure across the board would rise.
Will Rossiter, associate professor at Nottingham Business School, said: "If the stadium capacity increases, there will be two direct financial benefits. These are to do with the supply chain associated with businesses involved with Nottingham Forest, and the expenditure of visitors.
"It would increase revenue for the club, if the stand can be developed and if Forest can stay in the Premier League. The other simple reason is that there is the scope for more visitors to be accommodated, both from the city and outside of it, whose expenditure would be additional.
"If the plans go ahead, that will be a significant step up, and the capacity of The City Ground would increase by a third. That means more people would come in and businesses in the supply chain would benefit even more.
"Capacity is currently around 30,000 and with average attendances so high last year, there is not a lot of headroom. That is assuming that those who went last year will carry on coming to watch.
"As well as hospitality businesses benefitting, businesses on the frontline would receive more cash, as well as companies that make or import merchandise that would be associated. All those firms employ people, which could create more jobs, and more people then spending money in Nottingham that way."
Mr Rossiter has previously said the hospitality industry will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of Forest's promotion. And one of those expected to enjoy a boost is Hooters, which is on the way to The City Ground from Nottingham city centre, although Reds fans have already showed their loyalty.
Julian Mills, owner, said: "Every single home match has been really successful for us through this run, the majority of games for have been sell-outs. Interest gathered even more pace after Christmas.
"Over the play-off weekend, staff said it was great, although fans were nervous and excited, there was a lot of emotion and empathy released. I think every business in the vicinity of Nottingham Forest will benefit now, as it puts Nottingham back on the map.
"There will be a whole new breed of fans experiencing Forest in the Premier League again, it's like a whole new ball game. The Premier League is like a travelling roadshow, worldwide there will be a spotlight on the city.
"From a business point of view there will be less games though, as there are 38 in the Premier League compared to 46 in the Championship, but the overall buzz is much better. Although fans may want to see more Premier League games here, we did find there was an increased interest in Bournemouth games last season.
"Things normally start to build at around 11.30am for us before a 3pm kick-off, where people will meet friends and family. It's a good meeting point location."
