Liverpool City Region (LCR) Combined Authority is considering a grant towards the construction of, and infrastructure around, the new Everton stadium. Place NorthWest reports that the proposal includes a grant of up to £15m, and a loan of up to £30m.
Certain conditions will be attached to the loan to secure a good return on investment, and the best outcome for the businesses and residents of the local area. Everton Football Club will be required to contribute to health and wellbeing campaigns, employ local people, offer apprenticeships, and create educational opportunities, should the plan be approved.
In a joint statement, LCR leaders said: “This is not an investment in a football club but in an important project that will generate a myriad of social and economic benefits for communities across our region.”
They added: “From creating thousands of jobs, training and apprenticeship opportunities for local people, attracting hundreds of thousands of new visitors to our region and launching programmes that will help to tackle health and social inequalities, whilst supporting the vulnerable within our communities.”
The new 52,888 Everton stadium is expected to cost around £500m and take around three years to build. The club’s fans site, Royal Blue Mersey, reports that the club aims to rejuvenate the local area, by creating 15,000 new jobs and ultimately pumping £1bn into the local economy.
The grant of £15m, if awarded, will be spent on improving and restoring the infrastructure of the public spaces around the stadium, known as Bramley-Moore Dock. The stadium is currently under construction by contractors Laing O’Rourke, and Everton FC have said that once all the works are complete, up to 1.4m visitors a year will be attracted to the region.
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