Nottingham's famous City Ground has seen some big nights before. From a dramatic turnaround against Koln on the way to Nottingham Forest's first European Cup under legendary manager Brian Clough back in 1979, to pushing Jurgen Klopp's dominant Liverpool side all the way this year during a magic FA Cup run which also saw home wins against Arsenal and then-holders Leicester City.
The stadium has now become the setting of one of the greatest turnaround stories in recent memory, which has made a city starved of football success for so long truly believe again. On Tuesday night, the ground set on the banks of the River Trent will host its final game of one of the most spectacular and unpredictable seasons it has ever witnessed - with Forest fans dreaming of ending the campaign with one last game on the biggest stage of them all at Wembley.
Under Steve Cooper, the club has been utterly transformed - from languishing at the bottom of the table to giving Bournemouth a scare for the second automatic promotion spot. Now, Cooper's team goes into the second leg of their play-off semi final with a one goal advantage, having beaten Sheffield United 2-1 away from home at Bramall Lane in the first leg on Saturday, May 14.
Heckingbottom hopes for repeat of past play-off experience against Forest - read more here.
Tom Holodynsky is operations manager of bar owners Great Northern Group, which runs Copper in Bingham, the Trent Navigation and The Refinery among others - he has also been a season ticket holder at the City Ground since 1994. He know better than most what a huge impact Premier League football could have potentially have on the city.
"It's been absolutely fantastic," he said. "The mood is fever pitch. The positivity from everyone has been fantastic, I think everyone wants to get involved. I think a lot of people, through different reasons, stopped going when we went through tougher times, which is perfectly understandable. It brings people back to the club.
"You can't underestimate the effect it has on the city - not just at bars or pubs but at corner shops, restaurants. From a mental health point of view it's really important. We're getting back towards where we feel we belong."
Mr Holodynsky says he is choosing not to get carried away ahead of the game, as he has experienced his fair share of play-off heartbreak before. Under Billy Davies, there were losses to Blackpool and Swansea, while before that Forest have experienced play-off losses to Yeovil Town and Sheffield United. More recently, under Sabri Lamouchi, a dramatic final day loss meant the Reds - who spent most of the season safely in the play-off places - narrowly missed out and finished seventh in 2020.
The importance of the match is clear to see but, for local businesses and fans alike, what has already been achieved is just as important, with Steve Cooper and this team making their city proud again. Colin Wilde, who is the Operations Manager at Nottingham-based brewery Castle Rock, said: "If Forest were to get promoted, we would expect bigger crowds every week. We have busy pubs on matchdays and they're usually busier when the local team is doing well.
"The knock-on effect it will have is that more people will watch the games and more of those games will be on TV. The change in demeanour of Forest fans has been clear to see, if they do go up it would be great news for the city. But we've been here before and there is still some way to go. Win or lose, Forest are in a lot better place than this time last year."
Mick Garton, who is the chairman of local club Carlton Town, also runs a number of newsagents in the city. He said: "A lot of our supporters are also Forest supporters, we were able to organise our fixtures this season so fans could go to both clubs' games. This team has got a real chance to create their own legacy.
"A lot of Forest fans grew up watching the side under Brian Clough and now young fans will remember this watching the side under Steve Cooper. The kids in our club are so excited to go and watch them - and that then puts pressure on the parents to go! It's such a special time to be a fan at the minute."
Should all go well at the City Ground on Tuesday night, the final game of Forest's season would be one which is dubbed "the richest game in football" - such are the financial rewards that come from promotion to the promised land of the Premier League. The difference between winning and losing is worth hundreds of millions of pounds and, for cities such as Nottingham, it's not just the club which will line its pockets should promotion be achieved.
East Midlands Chamber chief executive Scott Knowles said: “A successful football team competing at the top of the sport creates a healthy atmosphere across the whole area and this will always have positive economic consequences for a city like Nottingham.
“Businesses located in and around the city benefit from the tens of thousands of people who turn up every match to support their club – pubs, cafés, restaurants and shops will be packed before each game, while local transport networks benefit from the increased number of passengers.
“We know that football is the world’s most-watched sport and the Premier League is the most popular national club competition, so playing in the top tier is another opportunity to put the Nottingham name on a global stage once again. At a time when the city is seeking inward investment for some exciting regeneration projects, this would certainly do no harm in elevating its international profile.
“But promotion, should it arrive, would also be much more than that. Nottingham Forest is woven into the city and county’s fabric, and having its Premier League status restored after more than two decades would create a huge sense of pride for its community.”
Nelson Blackley, an independent retail analyst, told Nottinghamshire Live: "The most obvious direct benefit to local retail would be an increased demand for Forest merchandise of all types, in particular kits from both the Forest Megastore at the City Ground, as well as the major sportswear retailers and Nottingham Tourist centre. The increased global TV exposure for all clubs playing in the English Premiership would also increase Nottingham Forest brand awareness internationally and boost sales of club merchandise overseas."
Nottingham Forest will host Sheffield United at the City Ground in a game which kicks off at 7.45pm on Tuesday, May 17.
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