Bramley-Moore Dock delays could lead to higher Everton costs as news emerges
Construction experts have suggested that Everton are three months behind schedule in their build of the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium, according to The Guardian.
The move from Goodison Park to the brand new ground was expected to take place at the beginning of the 2024/25 season, but recent drone footage, as well as documents filed in planning submissions, suggest that there could be a several-month delay.
Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has been searching for a new source of funding for the stadium over the past year, with MSP Sports Capital reportedly close to completing to striking a deal for a minority investment recently. [The i, March 27]
However, The Guardian’s analysis suggests that any delay to the stadium’s construction will only increase the expected original cost of £760million.
The report said: “Documents filed by Everton as part of the stadium’s public planning submissions – combined with the club’s latest published drone footage of the construction site – indicate that the project is at least three months late, according to experts in stadium construction.
“A three-month delay to the overall project would mean the new ground would not be ready for the start of the 2024-25 season, an ambition previously indicated by the club.
“The planning documents imply that the stadium should be completed by July 2024, when successful test events would have to be held before the stadium can host a competitive match. Any delays will likely increase the costs of the project which the club says stand at about £760m.”
Problems mounting
Things seem to be going from bad to worse for Everton football club right now, with their precarious Premier League status, the impending FFP investigation, and the lack of investment into the stadium all providing real issues.
Moshiri has had opportunities to sell the club outright already, according to the Daily Mail (7 March), but his links with Alisher Usmanov seem to have taken him away from this idea due to the possibility of issues with the government.
And now the expenses for the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium could be set to rise even further, following this latest prediction by the Guardian.
If this is the case, then striking a deal with MSP Sports Capital can’t come soon enough for both Moshiri and the club.
A new source of investment needs to be pumped into the club as soon as possible, as at the moment, they are slowly sinking into a quagmire of their own making.