Wael Al-Qadi ensured Bristol Rovers' disappointing opening day defeat to Blackpool was tempered with a degree of optimism as the club president declared on BBC Radio Bristol that the city's fruit market was the preferred site for a new stadium.
Seven months after confessing the stadium project in Filton was over, Al Qadi spoke 45 minutes before to state a number of locations are being considered but the area in central Bristol just north of the River Avon, between Arnos Vale and Saint Phillips, was the club's No1 option.
Bristol Rovers fans have been craving a new stadium for more than a decade, having played at the Mem since 1996, and delivering a ground was one of the promises Al Qadi made when his family purchased the club in February 2016.
Al Qadi said: "We have identified one site, along with others, we are very interested in. We have options but one of the sites is the site at the fruit market - we are very interested in that site.
"We have already started the work that goes in to planning permission. As you know it's a very long process and there's a lot of technical work that must be done to get approval from the Council."
Al Qadi was unable to provide specifics as to what stage this process was at, adding, rather confusingly, "the process has started. The most important thing is all the technical aspects of the process of a planning permission is underway".
No documentation has been filed with Bristol City Council to approve or deny, nor is it likely to be until the club actually owns the land for which they want to develop on.
Al Qadi appeared aware of that, but even preparatory work cannot properly begin in full until the land is owned due to the volume of assessments, varying from ecomonic to environmental to transport and overall construction, that must be undertaken.
The fruit market is owned by Total Produce and remains listed as so in the Land Registry. When contacted by Bristol Live over whether a sale is being negotiated the Dublin-based company refused to comment.
When pushed by host Geoff Twentyman if the plan was to purchase the land and then develop it, Al Qadi added: "To get this huge project done, it's all about arranging and figuring out agreements with all the parties involved. The most important one is planning because if we get that everything else falls into place."
Unfortunately, until the land is firsly purchased and planning permission is then subsequently entered and approved by the council, the fruit market looks a prospect well beyond Al Qadi's ambition of a new stadium within two years.
Al Qadi did add that they will try their "best" and "it's very difficult to predict in the future and anything can go wrong. The intentions are there and this is our aim."
When asked by host Geoff Twentyman if the necessary finance was in place, Al Qadi added: "It's inappropriate to go through these details at this present point.
" ... this is a very credible situation and every party involved in this are credible and we are very optimistic."
That's not to say, of course, that Al Qadi doesn't have plans in place to buy the land but, as it stands, that is merely the first step in hat is likely to be a long, complicated and drawn out procedure.
The Bristol Rovers president also reinforced his previous claims that the training ground at Almondsbury off the M5, known as "The Colony" which has been undeveloped since it was purchased in February 2017, will remain so until planning permission for the new stadium is granted.
"The training ground is dependent on us getting the stadium," he added. "Once the planning permission has been secured then the stadium will have to be built, there will be a significant capital expenditure on the stadium and, of course, the training ground."
Al Qadi also said that the Mem cannot be sold until the new stadium is given the green light by the Council.
