In July 1890 Nottingham Forest bought "Councilor Woodward's Field", a site at the end of Arkwright Street, in order to build a new ground.

The construction works cost £1,000; they included a covered 1,000-capacity stand with a standing area in front on the northern touchline, a large embankment with six steps running the whole length of the pitch on the southern touchline and an embankment with areas of uncovered seating at the western end.

[1] The ground was opened on 2 October in the 1890–91 season with a friendly match against Queen's Park,[2] which Forest won 4–2 in front of 3,500 spectators.

[3] In 1891 the Town Ground hosted a game between the North and the South, which was also the first match to be played using crossbars and goal nets.

[1] In the 1895–96 season the ground was one of the venues for the FA Cup semi-finals, with The Wednesday beating Bolton Wanderers 3–1.