For Nottingham Forest fans, this has been a long time coming. The last time the City Ground saw any major redevelopment work, Stuart Pearce and Stan Collymore still played for the Reds. With the ground regularly reaching capacity since returning to the Premier League, the club's case for expansion seems pretty clear.
But there has been talk of redevelopment for at least seven years now, and besides the addition of a temporary stand made of shipping containers and some cosmetic improvements, the stadium remains much as it was in the mid-90s. So after all the artist's impressions and a seemingly endless series of council meetings, fans will be forgiven for asking - is it for real this time? The approval given earlier this week is a huge step towards the plans becoming a reality.
But we have been here before - permission was granted a little over a year ago to increase capacity to 35,000. The reason that never went ahead is simple. After several consecutive seasons in the top flight and a European campaign under its belt, the club now have bigger ambitions.
The new proposals, unveiled a matter of months after the old ones were rubber-stamped, do not quite mean the redevelopment has to start from scratch. But their sheer scale does mean extra considerations for the authorities and fresh planning permission was necessary. After all, it will involve up to 21,300 more people flocking to a part of Nottinghamshire that is already incredibly busy on a matchday - a 68% increase.
For transparency, I speak from experience as a lifelong Forest fan myself. But - believe it or not - not everyone is, and councils have to consider the impact on all residents, whether they are fans or not. In areas close to the ground such as Lady Bay, for example, there are long-running issues with parking.
Ward councillor Richard Mallender said while he was happy to see the stadium expand, he added the volume of traffic regularly led to buses being cancelled and residents being trapped in their homes. "We're not here to block things, we don't want to stop things," he said. "What we want to do is make sure this really successful team have the stadium they need, but that it also works for the people who live here," he said.
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