Everton’s Chief Executive Robert Elstone has once again spoken about the need for The Toffees to build a new stadium to help the club move on to bigger and better things.
Elstone also spoke about how Everton are continuing to talk with Liverpool City Council over being part of the wider regeneration set to take place in the Walton Hall Park area.
Speaking in the club’s annual statement of accounts, as reported by The Liverpool Echo, Elstone said:
A consistent feature throughout 2014/15 has been our work on Walton Hall Park, in partnership with Liverpool City Council. Our interest in developing the park was made public by the need to declare that position in the City’s Local Plan. In truth, without that, we would have maintained a more private position as we tried to find a solution that would make the scheme viable.
When offered the site, the club responded to a regeneration agenda with conviction, recognising that we had an opportunity to not only find a solution to our search for a new stadium but also make a significant, lasting and much-needed difference to north Liverpool, the city and the region.
Those objectives underpin our ambition today and we continue discussions with the Mayor and his officers to finalise a funding model that gives the scheme a fighting chance of success.
As I have said in the past, and as acknowledged by almost every independent commentator, the club has performed exceptionally well over the past 10 years and, for as long as we stick to the tried and tested formula that has delivered that success, we can be confident that the club will continue to flourish.
The real springboard to greater things will be the new stadium. It’s why we will continue to work with determination and creativity to find the solution.
Of course, Everton have been linked with building a new stadium for a long, long time, with the residential location of Goodison Park making it almost impossible to expand and renovate.
There was the failed proposal to build a stadium on the King’s Dock. There was then talk of a new stadium being built in Kirkby, although that was met by strong opposition from the fans. The new Walton Hall Park proposal has been met with criticism by local residents too.
