Nottingham Forest is proposing discounted park-and-ride packages to reduce traffic if the City Ground’s capacity is increased from 31,000 to 52,500.
The club’s transport strategy outlines measures intended to accommodate thousands of additional supporters while reducing the number of cars entering West Bridgford, Lady Bay and the Meadows on matchdays.
Forest wants to partner with Nottingham Express Transit (NET) so supporters can reserve spaces at the city’s seven tram park-and-ride sites when buying match tickets.
The proposed package would cost around £7 per car and include a reserved parking space and tram travel for up to four occupants. Season-ticket holders would receive a booking link by email.
The participating sites would be Clifton, Forest, Wilkinson Street, Phoenix Park, Moor Bridge, Hucknall and Toton Lane.
Forest says the sites are not widely used by supporters because of their distance from the ground and limited promotion. However, the club believes guaranteed spaces, discounted travel and lower costs than many matchday car parks could persuade fans to change their habits.
Supporters would be encouraged to leave the tram at Meadows Embankment and walk for around 30 minutes to the stadium via Wilford Suspension Bridge, helping to reduce pressure on Trent Bridge.
Forest also wants to introduce matchday shuttle buses from the Queen’s Drive and Racecourse park-and-ride sites.
Both would open for at least 10 hours on matchdays, with fans able to reserve spaces and shuttle tickets in advance.
Buses from Queen’s Drive would drop supporters near Wilford Suspension Bridge, around a 12-minute walk from the ground. Racecourse services would stop outside the City Ground at the Brian Clough Stand car park.
Shuttles would run every 10 minutes, or whenever full, from three hours before kick-off and following the match. Existing scheduled bus services would not be affected.
The proposals accompany plans for a matchday Controlled Parking Zone within approximately 2km, or 1.2 miles, of the stadium. This would restrict parking around the ground from four hours before kick-off until around two hours after full-time.
The transport measures remain subject to discussions involving Rushcliffe Borough Council, Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council and the East Midlands Combined County Authority.
A Nottinghamshire County Council spokesperson said the planning obligations had yet to be determined and officers were still assessing Forest’s updated transport information.
