Keith Harris On The Latest Developments At Bramley-Moore

Keith Harris On The Latest Developments At Bramley-Moore Dock

Deputy Chairman speaks to the matchday programme about his role and progress on the new stadium project.

Deputy Chairman Dr Keith Harris has spoken to the Everton matchday programme about his role at the Club and the latest developments at Bramley-Moore Dock...

Keith, the transition to a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock is, of course, an enormous project for the Club. Recent progress includes the 19-day public consultation, which ended several weeks ago and drew an outstanding response, and the confirmation of a proposed capacity of 52,000 with potential to expand to 62,000...

It’s important to reiterate this is what we are working towards. It’s a proposed capacity at this stage, which will be subject to further consultation and engagement, and the potential is there for expansion. We will have a degree of flexibility during a possible period of discussion on safe standing. This is a really significant option to have in the future. We want to be able to reproduce and even enhance as much of the Goodison atmosphere as possible in the new stadium.

Of course, there is still much work to be done. This will not only establish a new home for the Club in an iconic setting on the Liverpool waterfront, it will provide a regenerative boost for the entire city region and a legacy at Goodison that we can all be proud of. So we are all very focussed on a project the scale and ambition of which can most certainly be characterised as huge for the Club.

With the second-stage public consultation taking place this summer, the Club will present designs for the first time...

Yes, a lot of work has gone into design and, of course, it is continuing to be honed. The site itself is fantastic, but we have challenges. The fact that the stadium is being built on a dock is an obvious one, along with infrastructure and transportation links. But the end result – next to the Mersey, glowing in the northern part of the docks, the culture and some of the historical legacy of Everton stamped upon it – will be incredible. We’re all very enthused by this. I’ve seen stadia all over the world, I’ve been involved in many stadium projects, including Wembley, and I think I can say with complete confidence and conviction that I haven’t seen anything that will look as good as this will. It will truly be something that will inspire.

With Wembley, you had the responsibility, too, for raising the finance to build it...

You can have the most brilliant design in the world but you can’t get away from the fact that you need the money to do it! In terms of institutions we have spoken to about funding and all of them viewing the project positively, I can say we have a significant level of comfort that the project is financeable. We’ve done a lot of work on how the deal will be financed and have actually firmed up the likely structure of the deal. We have put together an information memorandum and had discussions in great detail with a number of potential funders. We’re confident in terms of the position we are in. The finance will not be triggered until planning has been granted but this project is an attractive investment and we are in a good place with it.

Something you understand very much, too, is the history of the Club and the aspirations going forward...

The game means so much to people here. It is an integral part of the culture of this city. I’ve always appreciated how this is a knowledgeable football crowd at Goodison. It’s vitally important, as I’ve said, that the historical legacy of Everton is stamped upon the new stadium and it’s equally important that the new stadium conveys the strength of aspiration that drives everybody at the Club. For me, if you love football, there is nothing more beautiful than a great game of football played in a great stadium. There is nothing more beautiful than that. Goodison embodies so much of this Club. There will be a lasting legacy, we’re invested in making that happen. And we’re hugely invested in everything it will mean for Everton going forward to have a new home on the waterfront. You can’t say more than that.

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