Charlton Athletic managing director Jim Rodwell admitted the club could one-day leave The Valley.
The south London stadium is not currently owned by The Addicks, but is still under the control of much-maligned former owner Roland Duchatelet.
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Duchatelet sold the club to East Street Investments in 2019, but retained ownership of The Valley and the club’s Sparrows Lane training base in Eltham.
The club has since passed through the hands of ESI to Thomas Sandgaard before current owners SE7 Partners acquired Charlton in 2023.
A 15-year lease was signed by Sandgaard in 2021, meaning this is due to expire around 2036, in 11 years time.
talkSPORT reported in 2023 that Duchatelet wanted £53m for The Valley and the Sparrows Lane training ground – that includes £46m for him plus £7m owed to ex-directors.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Rodwell gave an update on the current situation.
He said: “Yes, Mr Duchatelet, or his company, do still own the stadium and training ground.
“We’ve made no secret of the fact we would like to buy the stadium or enter into a longer term lease on the right terms.
“Those conversations are ongoing. We have a considerable period of time left. I know fans like certainty and so do businessmen.”
Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan pointed out an EFL requirement to have at least ten years left on a lease.
Rodwell replied: “Ours is getting down to that kind of level, so there might be some issues there.”
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When asked if the club could move away from The Valley, he said: “It’s always a possibility. I think the desire would be to stay at The Valley. It’s a brilliant ground and great atmosphere. It’s fit for purpose.
“But we want certainty of tenure.”
Any proposal to move away from their 27,111-seat home in south London is likely to be met with vehement opposition by Charlton fans.
Financial issues forced them to leave the ground in 1985 and it lay abandoned for many years.
Charlton had to ground share with Palace and West Ham until returning to The Valley in 1992 after a fierce, fan-led battle.
“We pay a rent at the moment that is fair,” Rodwell continued.
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When asked if the rent has gone up following promotion, he replied: “I think I’ve got to be careful what I say because there’s a certain amount of confidentiality with the lease.
“He owns something, we would like to buy something.
“What is The Valley actually worth? It’s worth a lot to Charlton but probably not a lot to a developer. What else could you stick on there?
“I’m always a great believer that commercial reality would hit home. There’s always a deal to be done there. Talks are ongoing. They have been conducted in the right spirit.”
The Addicks secured promotion back to the Championship last season, beating Leyton Orient in the League One play-off final.
It is their first time back in the second tier since 2020 and have not been in the Premier League since relegation in 2007.
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At the time of their relegation, Charlton were looking into expanding The Valley to around 40,000-seats.
When asked what the fans can expect from the 2025/26 season, Rodwell added: “I can promise them that we will give them everything we’ve got. They understand, they saw that with the manager, they saw that with the players last season.
“We had a sticky first half of the season, make no mistake, but Nathan [Jones] and his coaching staff had a plan and they stuck to it and they executed it well.
“The players were brilliant, they so diligently followed the plan. I think we kept 30 clean sheets or something like that. We defended like Trojans at times.”
Attention will turn to the transfer market and talkSPORT understands Charlton have already seen a bid turned down for Leyton Orient’s Ethan Galbraith.
Rodwell continued: “We will be competitive, we’re in the market. We’re looking at every single position, some of our players might be listening to this, but it’s a fact. We have to evolve. We have to grow.
“Our players, hopefully, will come with us on that journey. Some will and some won’t and some will surprise you positively and some will surprise you negatively. We’re looking at everything.
“We’re trying to sign some good footballers at the moment, it’s not easy and it’s certainly not cheap.
“We’ve got serious people who run our football club. We think we’re a serious executive team. We do things properly. This isn’t a wing and a prayer.
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“I think what Charlton fans want more than anything, especially with what they’ve been through in the last, 10 or 15 years, they want a football club they can be proud of. They want to stick their chest out.
“They want to see the friends who are Crystal Palace fans and Millwall fans. They don’t want to hide in the shadows. Hopefully we’ve given them that little bit of pride back.”