Everton bank on new stadium to act as catalyst for development of the region

This was on top of his statement not so long ago regarding the lack of forward planning with regard to transport issues, was because he wasn't sure if the stadium was actually going to be completed!

I expected more to be happening around this area but I'm sure it will slowly snowball, over time.

He had the strategy but not the business acumen — nor, as it turned out, the money to achieve it.

Liverpool City Council's lack of preparedness for this development is borderline criminal. If the purpose of the City Mayor is not to galvanise public funding and private enterprise around this type of development, then what is the role for?

The stadium will no doubt act as a catalyst for further investment in the area. Interesting that TfG realise that they are going to need to do this with private sector backing / partners, knowing that public sector contribution has been and will remain nil.

You are right, Anjishnu, in saying that concert goers etc expect a level of sensible transportation links. This is the biggest gap for me, and will likely only follow well down the line. In reality it needed to be one of the first pieces of the jigsaw in order to redevelop the area.

The Mayor described this as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redevelop this area and to link the Liverpool waterfront.

It seems like it's Everton's responsibility to make it happen. With astute business men at the helm, there may be far wider business opportunities here for Everton if they grab them now.

I did write to Michael Gove when he was Culture Secretary, to remind him that on Merseyside Tory Michael Heseltine was a rare hero who was bold enough to see what affect the redevelopment of the Albert Dock would have. He did reply but I think at that time the Government were reluctant to become involved with the then Owners of the Club.

As for the New Government this should be seen as a real opportunity to spark the regeneration of the wider area right up to Bootle. But as of today no one seems willing to take a lead. Clearly there is little Public Money available and we badly need a Champion to plead our case.

It shouldn't be Everton's sole responsibility to make this happen. They have done their part. If they have to take a lead, then so be it to get things done. As the proverb and saying goes:

"If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad will go to the mountain".

Basically, if someone won't do this thing for me, I'll do it for myself.

Yes, they should be part of the steering group, but a lot of the regeneration sits with Liverpool City Council and the Liverpool City Region. This is not just about Everton, there potential benefits are for the city and region.

I don't what they've been doing for the last 4 or so years. Talking about it? Maybe they were more concerned with the bribery investigations and charges that several councillors are involved with?

That's a cheap shot, but probably born out of frustration that this is now an afterthought rather than the parallel project it should have been as the stadium was being built.

Answer...look at the Calibre of The Mayor's.

But, to Stephen's point, Andy Burnham has a task force up and running, with Seb Coe as chairman, before a stadium has even been agreed.

In Liverpool, Rotherham is still to get out of the starting block and we are left depending on the messaging from Colin Chong who is trying to use the fact BMD is already built and therefore 5 or 6 years ahead of Old Trafford to influence investment decisions — with no real vision or support from the council

Unbelievable and sadly believable at the same time.

Perhaps that a post-crash and Covid thing, but the outsider perception of doing business in Liverpool is harder than it should be, whilst the trial of Joe Anderson & Co isn't a good look.

How are we going to exploit it for events etc?

I've been to a few stadium concerts in the last few years and had to walk 20/30 minutes to get there.

At the Stadium of Light last year, I had to walk 25 minutes from centre of town. After the concert, there was a 2-hour wait for the metro back to Newcastle and a 1-hour wait to other parts of Sunderland.

Mordor has held loads of Summer concerts recently and transport links there are hardly brilliant.

Not saying transport links aren't rubbish to the new stadium. Just saying that most larger venues require a similar walking distance?

We, on the other hand, did no such thing. We thanked our lucky stars that Liverpool CC saw fit to grant us a planning consent... and then built it. Just ignored the rest. LCC, the Mayor's office, sat on the sidelines and watched.

The complete inactivity of LCC and Metro Mayor is inexcusable. At some point, somebody needs to hold them to account.

Moshiri wanted the stadium built but was also fully committed to an exit strategy. He had no interest in the wider scheme.
All parties talked regeneration of the area but did zilch…

Opportunities still sit there however, even in the absence of public funding. I have a gut feeling that TFG might be sharp enough to take them…

Also, there are some influential individuals who seem (for some unknown reason!) to have the ear and favour of the Westminster Government.

London will always get the biggest slice. It's the nation's capital with a (declared) population roughly the same as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland combined.

Manchester has boxed clever. It's been said on these hallowed pages before, they have negotiated with and worked with central Government.

Whether the fault of one or the other, Liverpool tends to have been in conflict with Westminster.

I don't know if that is a contributing factor to the perception, but other major cities don't seem to receive the same treatment as Liverpool.

Manchester has managed to reinvent itself. Population aside, with businesses, the national media and Government departments setting up satellites there, it has, in my opinion overtaken Birmingham as the UK's second city.

Back on point though, we need (and needed) local Government to be all over this. That's what they are there for.

When Lancashire CCC announced they were spending £39M on improving Old Trafford cricket ground to ensure international matches... Manchester Council responded by closing the train station that served the ground!

Only a fraction of the crowds to be experienced at the new stadium will visit the Baltic. Unbelievable!!

Baltic is south of the city centre. BMD is in the north end.

T'was ever thus.

Of this, around £3M was allocated for te Bramley-Moore Dock area, specifically Sandhills, so just under 0.5%. The Baltic station was budgeted at around £100 million. I'm guessing such a relatively small amount at BMD because, at the moment, it's seen as a matchday only transport issue.

The regeneration of this area is huge, the more of a footprint the club owners have on the ground the better for Everton, sooner or later more money will follow, and the return will be huge.

The council may continue to embarrass themselves a while longer, or maybe this will be the push they need?

There is a Michael Kavanagh who is an Irish ex-hurler champion. Hurling, now there is a dangerous game.

I expect this transport issue to get sorted out quickly. Rotherham already knows the solution. Before anyone goes apoplectic at the headline scroll down - Bramley Moore is in his plans.
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Having spent all my working life in Local Government I have some knowledge of how it works, and in todays climate when there is so little money available I cannot see any of the Public Bodies suddenly having cash available. That just leaves the Club, who have already invested heavily and may have expected help from elsewhere.

So certainly as far as next season goes it seems clear that what you see at present is likely all we are going to get, and just how 50,000 supporters are going to get to and from the ground in safety and comfort is anybodies guess.

In the circumstances, I think we should be making a fuss and making everybody aware that potentially access to and from our new ground will raise all sorts of problems, and we shall need some radical ideas to help resolve the situation before the start of the new season just a few weeks away.

2: A carefully defined residential zone with nice views and enormous council tax.

3: The new Everton Stadium to be the centre of a place for concerts, footie and any sport other than American 'football' or basketball.

4: Remaining docks to be improved with motorway access.

5: Vastly improved transport service using driverless trolley busses.

Now find the cash for that lot and a competent set of managers in Britain. Good luck, folks.

Chelsea from West Brompton. Spurs from Seven Sisters (45 minutes!), Arsenal, West Ham, Southampton etc.

I can only think of Brentford and Brighton that I've been to recently that's a short walk from the stadium but the home and away fans are still mixed then.

Brentford isn't too bad and Fulham is okay if you head towards Putney Bridge.

I walked to Lime Street after the 2nd test event as the bus on the way in was a bit of a nightmare. I done it in 30 minutes, but that's me. Not everyone may be as mobile.

Going back to West Ham. As many complained about the crowd control system with the stop and go signs on the bridge on Regent Road heading towards the Pier Head, no different to leaving the London Stadium heading towards Stratford.

Brighton also have a control system to restrict the flow of people onto the platform at the train station right next to the Amex. It can often take a while to get down there.

Nothing compared to Newcastle, but isn't anything to do with the proximity of St James' Park from the station. It's those 197 steps to get to the away section tucked into the clouds.

If you think about it, getting away from Goodison and back into town can be a nightmare. I usually stop and wait to let the traffic go down.

I hadn't realised that the England Rugby Football Union were threatening to leave Twickenham. The main reason cited was that Richmond Council only permit them to hold 3 non-Rugby events per year, meaning a significant loss in potential revenue. For one or two of those, the council only permit a capacity of 55,000.

Seems they have retracted it as negotiations with the council have taken a positive turn. I'm sure they shit themselves at the prospect of losing that jewel in their crown. The focus is now on redeveloping Twickenham.

Lesson to Everton, play hardball with our joke of a council and get them to sort out the re-development and infrastructure around the Everton Stadium for the continued benefit of the city.

Interestingly, the RFU considered a few options, one being to go 50-50 with the FA for Wembley, which was dismissed, probably by the FA. Also, upping sticks and moving the home of Rugby to the West Midlands. Years back before Wembley was rebuilt, I thought football should have done that if they were going to have a national stadium, which I've never been a fan of.

Also, they are open to Chelsea using Twickenham if and when they go ahead with plans to rebuild / redevelop Stamford Bridge.

For me, this demonstrates the importance of the new stadium in bringing in additional revenue from non-football events. We have already stolen a march on Old Trafford and Anfield in the north west as the preferred destination for the England v Australia Rugby League Ashes and earmarked for the Euros. We need more of this, Rugby, international tournaments, concerts and boxing.