Nottingham Forest have never shied away from innovation – from Brian Clough’s relentless spirit driving the club to back-to-back European Cups, to more contemporary advances off the pitch in modernising the matchday experience.
In December 2023 the club made one of their boldest moves yet: a carbon-zero, energy-generating Fan Zone at The City Ground, born of a sustainability partnership with energy provider E.ON. This is not just a gathering place for fans ahead of kick-off, but a statement: Forest appear to be serious about making football greener.
The Fan Zone officially opened on 2 December 2023, ahead of a home match against Everton. It sits behind the Brian Clough Stand at the City Ground and can host around 1,000 supporters at a time.
At its heart is a flexible solar canopy perched over the main stage, under which sits a giant screen and seating. This solar roof doesn’t just keep the rain off – it’s designed to generate and store roughly 12,000 kWh of energy per year. That’s more than the Fan Zone needs to run.
The environmental payoff is real. The project is estimated to save about 2,472 kg of CO₂ emissions annually.
Beyond the solar canopy, there are other green touches. A battery storage unit so that energy harvested during sunnier times can be used later, biodiversity planting, recycled timber fencing, planters, the use of repurposed containers to house street food vendors and bars delivering refreshments in reusable cups.
For many, the appeal of a Fan Zone is atmosphere: music, food, community. Forest’s new Fan Zone delivers precisely that, but with a sustainable twist. It is open both before and after home matches, giving fans the chance to soak in the build-up and post-match energy.
Local vendors ply their trade in reused containers rather than new builds; drinks are served in reusable cups; and the surroundings are made more pleasant and environmentally beneficial with planting and landscaping designed to promote biodiversity.
It’s an effort to show that you can mix the rituals of matchday – camaraderie, food, singing – with responsible design. The goal seems to be not only ‘how do we entertain our fans?’ but ‘how do we do that without costing the planet?’
Forest’s venture comes at a moment in English football where sustainability is more than PR – it’s increasingly regarded as essential. Stadiums, fan zones and club operations are coming under scrutiny for energy use, waste, travel and carbon footprint.
By turning their Fan Zone into a net generator of power, Forest are pushing beyond incremental improvements (more recycling bins, less plastic) into infrastructure that rethinks the game-day space.
The club’s chairman at the time, Tom Cartledge, spoke of the Fan Zone as “just the first of many projects to help realise a truly fan‐focused and sustainable future for our club”.
Forest’s broader sustainability partnership with E.ON also includes targets to reach ‘net zero’ emissions and to explore other sustainable initiatives at both the stadium and training ground.
Of course, the Fan Zone isn’t a perfect utopia – 12,000 kWh is notable, especially since it outstrips the Fan Zone’s own usage, but in the grand scheme of a whole stadium or club with multiple facilities, it remains a modest piece of the puzzle. The saving of around 2.5 tonnes of CO₂ is welcome, but for Forest (and indeed for all Premier League clubs) the real environmental challenge lies in matchday travel, stadium heating, lighting, large crowds and wider operations.
**READ: [Challenging Premier League clubs to sign up to greener travel](https://www.football365.com/news/premier-league-clubs-pledgeball-greener-travel)**
There will also be practical challenges. How does this work in winter when daylight is minimal, or on matchdays with overcast skies? Storage helps, but battery technology is not perfect. Maintenance of solar infrastructure, ensuring local vendors and facilities maintain sustainability standards and keeping behaviour (reusable cups, waste segregation etc.) aligned with the infrastructure are all vital.
Also important are the ways in which Forest aim to use the Fan Zone as a platform, raising awareness with supporters about energy, encouraging sustainable behaviours at home and embedding environmental responsibility into the club’s fan engagement.
For example, Forest have removed single-use plastics (straws, cups, cutlery), promoted the use of public transport among fans via discounts and achieved zero waste sent to landfill for certain periods.
Looking ahead, Forest may expand or replicate these kinds of sustainable fan spaces. Perhaps future stands, concessions or community facilities will follow the same blueprint – solar (or other renewables), recyclable materials, carbon‐impact awareness and infrastructure that helps rather than just consumes.
The energy-generating Fan Zone at The City Ground is more than just a novelty – it’s a signal of green ambition. Forest aren’t perfect and this single project does not solve football’s environmental challenges. But by investing in infrastructure that actively produces and stores renewable energy, by building fan-centric but planet-aware spaces and by packing sustainability into the matchday ritual, Forest have made a statement that ‘green’ can integrate with tradition, atmosphere and passion.
It’s a fitting tribute to Cloughie’s famous jumper – iconic, bold and showing that sometimes the oldest institutions can still surprise you. And if the sunny (or at least non-cloudy) days ahead are matched by more such steps, Forest could be leading the way for clubs up and down the country to be as green as Old Big ‘Ed’s knitwear.
_To learn more about Pledgeball and how you can pledge to help your club shoot up the sustainability standings, [**visit Pledgeball.org**](https://pledgeball.org/)._