The press release announcing Liverpool city council’s intention to help Everton move to a prime waterfront location describes it as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to regenerate the Atlantic Corridor in north Liverpool”. It is a second-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Everton and one that, even with a £300m price tag, they cannot afford to miss.
A transformation is planned for a 2.3km bank of the river Mersey and a proposed state-of-the-art stadium at Bramley Moore can have a ripple effect on Everton. Thursday’s confirmation that the club has agreed a deal for the land with Peel Holdings and the council intends to act as guarantor for the loans represents a significant but modest step forward. Major obstacles remain in the form of funding and planning permission and Everton’s track record on stadiums invites scepticism that, 125 years after refusing to pay the rent at Anfield and upping sticks to Goodison Park, a fifth home will become a reality. But things have changed at Everton, not least the driving force behind Bill Kenwright’s dream of relocating to the Liverpool waterfront.
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