Kirkby refusal for Everton forces ground share re-think

Nov 27 2009 by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post

Could economic realities force Everton and Liverpool to share a ground? David Bartlett reports

IT IS the word many football fans on both sides of Stanley Park hoped they would not hear again – ground-share.

But yesterday Everton FC chief executive Robert Elstone put it firmly back on the agenda, saying his club was prepared to consider all options, including a ground-share with LFC.

He spoke after it was officially confirmed Communities Secretary John Denham had rejected the club’s plans to move to Kirkby and build a 50,000-seater stadium alongside Tesco in a £400m development.

Mr Elstone said: “It’s certainly one of the options that we will need to cover.”

“A shared stadium is perhaps an option, if it’s affordable.

“We have to look at where we can raise money, because potentially Liverpool will have to obviously contribute to that, and Liverpool City Council perhaps might need to find some money.

“If we are the first major English club to look at sharing, then we’re not scared of making those decisions.

“So we’re going to have to start to have those conversations, we’re going to have to be open-minded about solutions.” On the face of it a ground-share would seem an attractive option, with Liverpool having put their plans for a £400m stadium on Stanley Park on hold during the current global financial crisis.

But LFC owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett are understood to be opposed, as they believe it would impact on the amount of cash a solely owned stadium could generate.

Liverpool FC’s deputy executive director Peter Shaw said: “It’s not on our agenda at the moment. Liverpool are progressing forward with our own stadium. That is the position we are still in.

“The LFC stadium is quite far progressed and once the financial markets reopen for business the LFC stadium will progress further.”

When asked whether the idea of a ground-share with Everton could be a possibility, he said: “That’s not for me to answer.”

Financing any scheme is at the heart of the problem for both clubs, and Mr Elstone stressed that finding money was the key issue.