THE first phase of a long-awaited £7 million scheme to build a retail and restaurant complex next to Derby County's Pride Park Stadium is to be unveiled to the club's supporters.
The development – called The Plaza @ Pride Park – will be announced to fans at the last game of the season against Millwall tomorrow.
The Plaza will be at the North East Corner of the stadium, close to the DCFC megastore, and the initial phase will provide a mixture of retail and restaurant units totalling 7,000sq ft.
Once completed, the scheme could create dozens of new jobs.
The development is being undertaken jointly by the club and Derby-based developer Cedar House Investments, which is part of Peter Gadsby's Ark Capital Group.
They hope that The Plaza will benefit from another major development being built nearby – the £27.5 million multi-sports arena.
Work on the arena started last month and, once completed, it will feature a 250-metre cycling track, a 12-court sports hall, a gym, multi-function rooms, a spinning room and a cafe.
The arena will also double up into a concert venue for 5,000 spectators.
John Vicars, chief operating officer at Derby County, has welcomed the launch of The Plaza.
He said: "We see this development attracting perhaps a convenience retailer and a restaurant to complement the facilities already available on Pride Park and to provide a greater choice.
"With the opening of the new multi-use sports arena and velodrome adjacent to the club, there will be even greater demand for these facilities."
The units at the development will be marketed to potential occupiers by Derby-based commercial agents FHP.
Mr Gadsby, who himself is a former chairman of Derby County, said: "The area is already a proven destination for leading occupiers including Greggs, Frankie and Benny's, Subway and Starbucks.
"I'm particularly keen that this scheme will add to the success of Pride Park and provide further amenities for the 10,000 people who are working in the area. It is good news that this development will create a further 25 jobs."
Mr Gadsby said that the second phase of The Plaza would be considered once the multi-sports arena had opened.
The Plaza has been a number of years in the planning. Proposals to develop the land were first revealed in 2007.
It was going to be called Pride Plaza but the proposals were mothballed after the American owners took over Derby County.
But, in October 2011, the club revealed that it was to go ahead with the development, albeit a scaled-back version.
The project's cost has fallen from £20 million to £7 million and there will no longer be a hotel but it will include five new cafes and restaurants, along with two new bars to offer more options for fans and Pride Park staff.
The scheme is designed to include two new convenience stores and more than 2,000 square metres of office space.
Derby County have said that money raised from the Plaza would be reinvested into "all operations" of the football club.
Derby City Council granted planning permission for The Plaza at a meeting in January 2012 but, due to councillors' concerns about parking, the development had to wait until a travel plan was produced.
This has now been agreed and plans finalised but no date has yet been set for work to start.
