Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
Following suit of the London-based Tottenham Hotspur, Everton are on their way to moving into a brand-new, state-of-the-art stadium. Going into the development of the stadium, it was noted that there would be many hurdles to overcome if the club wanted to build its new venue on the Bramley-Moore Dock, but all looks to be going swimmingly right now.
Everton must comply with the requirements of building their new stadium in the north of Liverpool as well as create a legacy project within their current stadium, Goodison Park. After the first round of consultations, 95 per cent approved of the plans for Goodison Park and 94 per cent endorsed the move to the new stadium. The second stage, which saw over 43,000 people participate, saw the projects pass with flying colours.
However, there are currently question marks over the state of the team and whether or not it is ready for such a monumental move from their home of 127 years.
Tottenham Hotspur had been building towards their new stadium in terms of squad ability and construction progress almost in sync, with the team making it to the Champions League final in the season of the move to their incredible new stadium. Everton, as it stands, don't look to be moving in the direction that warrants their fans following them to a new home.
Marco Silva was given the unenviable task of rebuilding a bloated and lacking squad at the start of the 2018/19 season. While everyone understood that he'd need time to get the players he wants to perfect his idealistic style of play, three transfer windows and a net spend of £99.5 million later, Everton are in trouble.
Through the early stages of the 2019/20 campaign, the Toffees struggled greatly. They lacked in goals without a tried-and-trusted striker while shipping many, with Jordan Pickford allowing 40.5 per cent of 42 shots against to hit the back of the net through the first 11 games.
The team appears to be talented enough, as is the manager, to challenge for a place in Europe, but with only three wins in 11 games, Everton were given odds of 12/1 in the Premier League betting to make it into the top six.
Silva is in the midst of a big rebuild and may only be a couple of pieces away from having a very strong team. But this is the Premier League, and with the new stadium on the way, the club may be looking to cut their losses and restart the rebuild now to be ready for the move to Bramley-Moore Dock.
The Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium is proposed to be operational for the start of the 2023/24 campaign, with the projects' officials expected to submit applications by the end of 2019. However, as the stadium is set to be built on a World Heritage Site, Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City, the area risks losing its status.
The World Heritage status is very important to the area and the governing body, UNESCO, has already given a formal warning to the city that it needs to address their "serious concerns" by 2020. They have further stated that Everton's new home may threaten the authenticity of Liverpool's waterfront area.
As such, the club is trying to bring together arrangements that will appease the UNESCO board while also bringing the much-needed regeneration project to Bramley-Moore Dock. It doesn't look likely to hold up the project plans, though, with a new public transport system, the Lime Line, already in the works.
The Bramley-Moore Docks Stadium is moving forward as planned, with the club and its fans excited for the new build. However, this puts added pressure on the team to build into a unit worthy of such a move.
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