Season 2011-12 Fan Articles

A Time for Sharing?

By Jimmy   Stenson  ::  26/08/2011   16 Comments (»Last) I am writing this as I feel there is nothing new to be said regarding the whole Blue Union / Bill Kenwright issue. Rather than rehash and repeat other people's arguements, ideas and opinions, I think it better I talk about something which surfaces every few months, before being forgotten about until next time..

Shared stadium

I know the mere mention of it gets some people's backs up; others are more pragmatic when the issue rears its head. For me, I was always in the camp of "We shouldn't share with those filthy red bastards. Ever." However, the longer we stay stuck at Goodison, the more I see it is the only way out of the financial shithole we find ourselves in.

The more I think about it, the plainer the issue becomes. Both teams, for different reasons, are unable to build their new ground. Both teams are falling behind every home game to other teams because of lost matchday revenue. Both teams are unable to expand or redevelop their own grounds. Both teams are unable to move forward because of this.

It seems as if neither side wants to be the first one to come out and publicly admit they want to do it, for fear of the other side declining and being made to look like a bunch of tits.

John Henry seems to be an astute businessman who looks at cold hard facts, rather than be swept up in romantic folly. If he and Kenwright could meet with Liverpool Council, is it too optimistic to think that something could be done?

Each side would need to have equal rights to the stadium and it's revenues. If each team kept 75% of profits per home game, with the council getting 25%, everyone wins. Everton and Liverpool get a subsidised stadium, which they are able to pay off with improved revenue, and the Council earn money every week. At the moment, Everton generate roughly £20m a year through matchday revenue, Liverpool over £40m.

If this were to increase by 15%, Everton would earn an extra £3m, and Liverpool £6m, which doesn't sound like a lot, but most teams see an increase of usually between 25-30% when moving to a new stadium. This would also mean the Council would be receiving roughly £17.5m a year, which would mean any funding we would receive from them could be paid back within a decade.

Having a new stadium would also make us a lot more appealing to new owners. At the moment, we are not worth buying because what would be the point of buying a team for around £75-£100m, only to find you need to shell out on a new stadium to be economically viable for the long term future, and then having to spend money on new players and wages, just to finish 5th?

A new stadium would mean we no longer have to rely on 14 mortgages to keep going. It would mean we are able to have a ground to rival the best in the world. It would mean the end of 4,000 seats having obstructed views, wooden seats, shit facilities and that fucking tent in the car park.

I feel that this is the only way forward for us; to paraphrase Kenwright, there is no Plan B.

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