Premier League side Everton has taken "significant steps" toward building a new stadium on Liverpool's waterfront after agreeing to "a deal for Bramley Moore dock and receiving backing from the city council to act as guarantors" for the £300M ($375.5M)-plus loans required, according to Andy Hunter of the London GUARDIAN. The arrangement to acquire land from Peel Holdings "clears the first hurdle in Everton's efforts to relocate to the banks of the Mersey." However, that is "only the first step in a complex process" that will involve Liverpool Council helping the club "secure the financial package" to move from its Goodison Park home of 125 years. Everton has a billionaire major shareholder in Farhad Moshiri, but it is believed "he will not be contributing to the costs of the stadium" and the club intends to "raise the capital from a consortium of commercial lenders." It is "likely to be at least three months" before the club will be able to secure the finance and prepare the planning application. Consent is "not expected until early next year and Everton will acquire the land from Peel only once that is in place." The three-month delay is the "time it is likely to take" to set up a special purpose vehicle company which is "integral to the process." Under a proposal to be put before the council's cabinet next Friday, "the local authority intends to create an SPV with Everton." If agreed, the SPV would secure the funds for the stadium. The lenders "would acquire a 200-year head-lease of the land from Peel and lease the stadium to the SPV," which would, in turn, sublease it to Everton for 40 years. The deal is seen as a "win-win" for the council, "which will not pay any money into the SPV and will receive an annual fixed security fee from Everton for acting as guarantor." Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said, "I understand that creating this financial arrangement is a small step in a long journey for the club, but it is the first step and for that reason it is a special moment in the city's -- and Everton's -- long illustrious history." Despite being a "cash-strapped" local authority, "the council's assets mean it has a higher credit rating than a private company." Everton CEO Robert Elstone said, "We're keen to stress not only the scale of the work ahead but also the remaining risks and uncertainties" (GUARDIAN, 3/23). In London, Paul Joyce reported there have been "failed attempts" to move to a new ground before, "most notably" to the King's Dock and a site outside of the city boundaries in Kirkby, and "for that reason," Everton is "conscious of managing supporter expectations while the scheme remains in its infancy" (LONDON TIMES, 3/23).
COMMENTARY: The BBC's Phil McNulty wrote this "could be the most significant moment in Everton's recent history." Goodison Park "remains a gloriously atmospheric old arena but even the sentimentalists among Everton's support accept the time has come to move into a new era." Moshiri, along with Manager Ronald Koeman, sees this move as "crucial to the plan to shift Everton into Europe's elite group, in a modern stadium offering greater profile, greater finances and greater attendances." The new stadium has been "regarded as the key to a brighter future from the moment the billionaire arrived at the club" in Feb. '16 (BBC, 3/23).
