EVERTON FC chief executive Robert Elstone last night spoke of his confidence the club can foot the bill for a new stadium in Kirkby despite the recession.
Robert Elstone’s statement came amid rumours the Secretary of State will announce his final decision on the Kirkby public inquiry at any moment.
Mr Elstone said he remained confident the club would move to a new stadium by 2012 if the Government ruled in their favour.
A credit crunch has developed into a recession in the months since the Destination Kirkby public inquiry concluded.
At the nine-week public inquiry into Everton and Tesco’s plans to site a 50,000- seater stadium and a huge retail park on the edge of Kirkby, Mr Elstone said he was confident the club could meet its financial obligations.
He said: "It is certainly the case that the funding model we had 12 months ago – which was the sale of Goodison Park, the sale of naming rights, the sale of Bellefield, support from other sponsors, funding from caterers and other suppliers, and inevitably an element of borrowing – all of that mix is harder now than when the plans were first put together.
"We’re under no illusions that funding will be much harder in the present climate. But, we remain confident it can be delivered using the sources of funds we anticipated.
