Sky pundit delighted by £300million Everton stadium news with secret funder reportedly lined up
We’re delighted to welcome former Everton striker Kevin Campbell as our exclusive columnist. Each week the former Toffees captain will be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Goodison Park…
Kevin Campbell believes that the new Everton stadium development at Bramley-Moore Dock simply has to be completed and is happy to learn of new funding.
Liverpool Business News reported last week (17 April) that the club has a funder lined up to put in around £300million and get the project completed, but hasn’t been named, and that the deal struck with developer Laing O’Rourke to secure costs has left Premier League rivals “gobsmacked”.
Sky Sports pundit Campbell believes that the importance of the project means it is positive that a funder has been found, and any concerns over the identity of the mystery party will have to wait.
He exclusively told Goodison News: “Look, it has to be completed. They’ve started, they’ve got people all set to go, working in different stages. So that money had to be in place.
“So it’s a good thing for Everton that they know the stadium’s going to be done. Whoever the funder is obviously will be revealed in time.
“But it’s a big project that Everton needed to do and it’s great that somebody’s in place to fund it all.
“Look, we don’t know the ins and outs so there’s no point me trying to speculate. We could be here all year.”
On the deal with the developer he added: “Getting it done on time and on budget, yeah it is important. Obviously it’s Laing O’Rourke putting it out there that, ‘Hey, we’re proper stadium builders and we stick to the cost’.
“That’s big. That’s big in stadium builds.
“And obviously it’s a feature one because it’s on the water, so there’s a lot of work going into this one and if they can deliver it on time they’ll probably get other work.”
The club has broken from the mayhem that has surrounded pretty much everything else it has done this year and appears to be pressing forward well with the build amid difficult circumstances.
There has to be some reticence to fully celebrate the news of the funder until they are named and their suitability can be assessed.
Whoever they are will surely want a return at some point, but that appears to be an issue for another day as the Toffees clearly don’t want anything else to threaten their new home.
In other Everton news, the club have been advised to “chill out” and let a medal winning first-team player speak to other clubs if he wants.
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