Everton: Colin Chong claims over new stadium funding under scrutiny after accounts emerge
The Esk has highlighted a potential discrepancy between Everton CEO Colin Chong’s claims about the new stadium and the content of the recently-released club accounts.
The Toffees-focused blogger, in a Twitter article on 5 April, put excerpts from the BBC Sounds podcast Everton: Nothing Will Be The Same Again and the latest financial documents which came out over the Easter weekend along side each other, asking “how do you reconcile the following?”.
The 52,888-capacity dock-side ground is due for completion towards the end of 2024, with the club set to move in at the start of the following campaign [Guardian, 15 December], but Chong’s confident words (at the start of this season) in the 12 October podcast episode have been questioned when put up against the accounts, cleared for release on 11 January and signed by Chong (page 17), that state full funding had yet to be secured.
Chong told Giulia Bould of suggestions finances may not be available to complete the project (9m 50s): “No, none of it’s correct. We set out with a plan, and I tell you if I got out the plan for four or five years ago as to how we were going to procure and deliver this project we could probably put to within weeks every key decision and activity that’s been achieved.
“We’re running exactly to programme, we’re on budget, the procurement process and securing funds has always been within this plan. We agreed four or five years ago how we were going to fund the project. Mr Moshiri has always said he would support the project financially from the get-to. He’s actually done that, we’re probably 60% of the way through the build and it’s all been done with equity.
“We have a senior debt plan in place which we are just waiting for the right opportune moment to, I suppose capitalise on that, and then there’s additional investment that Mr Moshiri’s currently looking at as well which could go towards some enhancements that we may well want to make to the stadium in the not-too-distance future”.
Then the accounts state (page 21): “The Club is also continuing negotiations to secure the next stage of funding for the Bramley-Moore Dock development for the new stadium. Various options are being explored, however, the Club has yet to secure legally binding facilities as at the date of approval of the financial statements and this facility is not yet guaranteed.”
Mixed messages over Everton stadium funding?
The stadium continues to develop down by the water and is looking increasingly impressive, which is perhaps no surprise when it is considered by some to be a key aspect of what 777 Partners are looking to make use of if they get their takeover completed.
While there has clearly been a gap between mid-January and early April for the next set of funding to have been secured it doesn’t seem to tie up for everything to going entirely according to plan if up until less than three months ago there was no guarantee where the funding was coming from.
And it seems a bit of a stretch to insist that nothing which has suggested any issues throughout the project is correct when what was originally billed as a £500million stadium has now far surpassed that.
In fact the appeal hearing which saw Laurence Rabinowitz argue the club’s 10-point deduction down to six appeared to confirm that the cost has now topped £800m.
Loans towards the build of around £150m from MSP Sports Capital have to be repaid this month by 777 Partners to meet the Premier League’s conditions for the takeover, while Paul Joyce reports a “fresh commitment north of £100m” is due to Laing O’Rourke at the end of the month [Times, 5 April].
None of which is to say that the stadium isn’t ultimately going to be finished or won’t be afforded but it doesn’t paint a picture of an entirely seamless project working exactly as planned four years ago, as Chong insisted in dismissing any doubters.
In other Everton news, multiple key players must be sold for the club to avoid a third profit and sustainability breach.
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