Basketball legend Jason Kidd, who joined Everton’s ownership group recently, plans to attend the historic final fixture at Goodison Park on May 18. The Blues will bid goodbye to their home of 133 years following the clash against Southampton in the Premier League.
Kidd, a 10-time NBA All-Star and one of the best players of his generation, was recently added to the club’s ownership group having joined Roundhouse Capital Holdings, the UK company created by The Friedkin Group to hold their shares in Everton Football Club.
“The goal is, the plan is, to get there on May 18 for the last game to experience the history,” he told former Everton players Tim Howard and Landon Donovan on the Unfiltered Soccer podcast.
“It’s going to be excitement, sadness, it’s going to be a rollercoaster of emotions, when you talk about Goodison Park, I’m excited.
“I would like to go and see the new stadium, but I would love to just sit there and listen to the songs and everyone cheer and cry after that game on May 18. I want to just sit in there, absorb and be a sponge because this has been there for a lot of years,” Kidd added while wearing an Everton 1995 FA Cup final shirt for the podcast.
The Toffees are set to move to the new 52,888-capacity Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock next season.
It is still unclear whether new owners Dan Friedkin and his son Ryan will attend the game against Southampton. They are yet to attend an Everton match since The Friedkin Group’s takeover of the club last December.
Kidd, a two-time basketball Olympic champion, won the 2011 NBA Championship with Dallas Mavericks, where he is now the head coach. When asked about how he joined Everton’s ownership group, he said, “A lot of people don’t know but soccer was my first sport. That was the first sport that I was introduced to, so it was really my first love.
“When I had this opportunity with The Friedkin Group to be able to invest, I wanted to jump at it just because of the relationship that I have with that group. It all came from playing golf, which is funny in a way.
“When you talk about a historic club, the history, it’s rich, it’s exciting. When you talk about Goodison Park and the derbies, just the excitement and the passion. That’s kind of like what I am.”
Going into further details about how the conversations emerged while playing golf, Kidd continued, “I was playing golf with Ryan, and they’re involved in Roma. He was like: ‘Hey, you’ve got to come over.’
“He was serious about coming over, but unfortunately, my schedule wouldn’t let me get over, but we kept in touch, and I started to hear rumblings about them getting involved in Everton. I asked, I wasn’t shy, and said: ‘Ryan, are you getting involved?’ He said: ‘I think we might.’
“He came back and said: ‘Do you have any interest?’ I said: ‘I would love to.’
“It’s an honour that he thought of me. When you have the opportunity to invest, not just in a great team but also great people, so I’m very excited to go along this journey with them.”