33,000 fans to vote on Everton stadium move

Jul 16 2007 by David Bartlett, Daily Post Staff

Aerial shot of Goodison Park, Everton FC's ground _320

EVERTON Football Club today announced details of a ballot amongst its fans to gauge the level of support for a possible relocation to a new home in neighbouring Kirkby.

The decision to hold a ballot would seem to make it clear that the club hierarchy’s preferred option is to press ahead with the joint venture in Kirkby with Tesco and Knowsley Council.

After more than a century at Goodison Park, Everton has, over the past 12 months, been discussing the possibility of relocating beyond Liverpool city boundaries.

The ballot - to be run by the Electoral Reform Society - is expected to open early next month with the outcome likely to be known by the end of August.

Everton’s chief executive Keith Wyness said: "As we promised at our Annual General Meeting in December of last year, we will be holding a ballot amongst our supporter-base to ascertain the level of support for a possible relocation to a new stadium in Kirkby.

"There was never any question of us reneging on that promise and today we are able to give a basic outline of that balloting process.

"Self-evidently this does represent a pivotal moment in our great Club’s history and we believe it is only right and proper that our supporters are involved in the discussion and decision-making processes.

"We have worked studiously to ensure that this ballot is as inclusive as is possible. The plan all along was to include as many of our loyal supporters as we could - and we believe we have achieved this.

"We are confident that a very, very high percentage of those who have historically supported the Club will now have the right to have their voices heard.

"Anyone who has held a season-ticket in the previous three seasons, along with anyone who has purchased one for the coming campaign, will be eligible as will any shareholder who has not held a season-ticket since the end of the 2003-2004 season.

"In addition all adult members of Evertonia during 2006/07 will also be eligible to participate.

"Holders of complimentary season-tickets are not eligible and anyone who holds more than one season-ticket in his or her name will be permitted just one vote, an industry-standard requirement and one supported by the Electoral Reform Society who will arrange and conduct the ballot on our behalf.

"We have worked hard to ensure that as many genuine supporters as is possible will be able to participate and we believe that the final number of supporters who will be eligible will be in excess of 33,000 - a figure which, roughly, corresponds with the number of Evertonians present for our Premiership fixtures at Goodison Park.

"We anticipate that ballot papers will go out in early-August which, with a three-week voting period, should provide us with a result towards the end of that month,"he added.

* More on this story throughout the day on www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk. Don’t miss tomorrow’s Daily Post for a full interview with Keith Wyness.