IN-DEPTH NEWS

Alternatives on show at St George's Hall

By Lyndon Lloyd : 4 Aug 2007

A new Goodison: Bare-bones CAD rendering of Tom Hughes' plans for the redevelopment of Goodison Park
Opponents of the proposed relocation of Everton FC to neighbouring Kirkby put forward the case for alternatives yesterday with a well-attended presentation at St George's Hall in Liverpool city centre.

Detailed plans by Tom Hughes and Trevor Skempton took centre stage at the event organised at their own expense by the Keep Everton in Our City (KEIOC) supporters group but representatives of the Bestway Group, potential partners with Liverpool City Council in a proposed stadium development scheme at the Wallasey Tunnel Loop in Everton ward were also in attendance.

While Everton CEO, Keith Wyness, has admitted that redeveloping Goodison Park is not impossible, no feasibility study into whether keeping the club at it's 118 year-old home is logistically viable has ever been made public.

Hughes' 29-page document, unveiled online yesterday, was on display. Including a number of CAD renderings of the underlying structure of the proposed redevelopment and capacity projections for the life-cycle of an iterative plan for rebuilding the ageing stands.

Skempton, meanwhile, displayed drawings of an alternative design for a redeveloped Goodison featuring a dominant tower behind the Park End stand.

With Everton unable to fund any such project, both proposals would be dependent on an enabling commercial partnership to help pay for the construction.

One potential proposal that does appear to have solid commercial interest behind it is that for a new stadium for Everton at the tunnel loop off Scotland Road.

Bestway, the second-largest cash-and-carry operator in the UK, are proposing a 50,000-seat stadium within the loop as part of a wider regeneration scheme immediately south of Project Jennifer, another urban renewal project that will transform the area between Scotland Rd and Great Homer Street.

Fuller details of a joint LCC-Bestway proposal are expected to be released next week, around the same time that the first ballot papers are expected to hit the doorsteps of fans eligible to vote on the Kirkby option.

Those who are sceptical of moving Everton six miles beyond their roots to neighbouring Knowsley are advising fans to delay their vote until the bulk of the "Loop" proposal has been outlined.

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