Everton want to follow Manchester City model in hunt for new 50,000-seat stadium in Liverpool
Everton have identified a site, believed to be in Walton Hall Park, as the possible home for a new stadium, after 122 years at Goodison Park
Farewell then? Everton want to leave Goodison Park for a new venue, but need the backing of Liverpool City Council
Everton’s determination to leave Goodison Park has forced them to consider becoming tenants in a new, Liverpool City Council-owned 50,000-seat stadium.
Robert Elstone, the Merseyside club’s chief executive, said the club had identified a site for an alternative venue near their current home, with Everton hoping to follow the Manchester City blueprint towards relocation.
City’s Etihad Stadium was initially built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games and remains the property of Manchester City Council.
Everton say a similar tenancy agreement is a necessity because they cannot afford to finance the construction of their own arena.
Although Elstone would not confirm the preferred site it us understood to be Walton Hall Park, a mile from Goodison.
Designs have been drawn up, but only if cash is raised via Liverpool City Council, the sale of naming rights and other private investors, can Everton hope to realise their latest stadium vision.
Speaking at Everton’s general meeting on Tuesday, Elstone said that the stadium issue was a “priority” and relocation would be part of broader regeneration proposals.
“We’re not ruling out any of the sites that we’ve identified and that the council has presented to us but there is one site that’s getting more attention for a number of months,” Elstone said.
“It’s been worked on not only by Everton but also by the council, planners, architects, advisers, cost consultants, regeneration experts, solicitors and so on.
“If it comes to fruition we think it would be something that the city will be very proud of and we’re certain our fans will be very proud of, but we have to reflect that in our case it’s quite a different economic model to some of the clubs who have moved historically.
“In Everton’s case we will need a collaboration with a number of partners, the principal partner being Liverpool city council.
"We need the council to be supportive, financially and entrepreneurially, and at the moment there are signs that they are being that and that has to be welcomed.
"As a case study you can present [Manchester] City as a great example of what can be achieved through a sporting led regeneration and that’s a tremendous blueprint that we hope we can follow.”
Everton’s commercial and match day revenues have increased in recent years, and the last television deal is estimated to yield profits of around £29 million next season, but the club has made no secret of its need for greater investment to eradicate bank debts of around £33 million.
The club insist that Goodison cannot be modernised, and although an extra 10,000 capacity will be added at a new stadium, Elstone said that the level of debt required to build a new home could not be serviced by the extra revenue it raised – an estimated £5 million more from match day revenue a year.
The creates a dilemma for a club badly that is desperate for a stadium upgrade but cannot afford to mortgage its future by borrowing the necessary cash – a minimum of £200 million – to build it.
Elstone believes that, as was the case with City, a modern arena would make Everton a more attractive proposition to investors and can be the catalyst for further growth.
“This is more challenging for the board than it might have been in Arsenal’s case or one or two other clubs who have moved stadium,” Elstone said.
“It’s as much about future-proofing and potentially about attracting new investment, but the business case on a day-to-day basis is less than compelling which is why the board is currently looking not only at this opportunity but also the associated risks and the debt that the club might have to take on to deliver it.
“The key to our success is how well we outperform all our rivals – developing young players, scouting, trading players etc – and we’ve done all those things well and achieved regular fifth and sixth-place finishes in the league and contending for a Champions League slot. Would it be easier with more revenue coming in from a new stadium? Of course it would be.”
The Walton Hall venue will be far more attractive to Evertonians than the last proposed move to Kirkby, which – despite a vote narrowly in favour of the move – divided the fan base as it took the club outside the city boundaries. That proposal eventually fell through in 2009.
The political will to assist Everton is likely to be strong because Liverpool’s own stadium plans – to redevelop Anfield – have received overwhelming city council backing in recent years.
There is a desire within local politics to enable the city’s football clubs – fundamental to the success of Merseyside’s broader economy – to equip themselves to the demands of the 21st century, something their traditional homes cannot sustain in their current guise.
Source: Telegraph
