A new mini-stadium is set to constructed at the training ground of English Premier League football club Everton as part of a series of planned improvements at the site.
According to the Liverpool Echo newspaper, the local council is being asked to fund the development at Finch Farm, with the club set to pay higher rent rates in return.
The local authority signed a deal worth £13m three years ago to buy the training complex and the club pays rent to use the facility.
The stadium will host academy and Under-21 matches, which currently take place at Southport’s Merseyrail Community Stadium.
As part of the plans, a new education hub and extra car parking facilities will also be built. The local council is set to vote on the plans this Friday.
“Everton have… approached the City Council requesting landlord improvements be made to the property to satisfy their usage requirements,” a Council report stated.
“Everton, at their cost, have secured planning permission from Knowsley Council for all of the works and the works are due for completion shortly.
“This is a commercial arrangement which is an exceptionally good deal for council tax payers as we can reinvest the profits to benefit the city’s economy and front-line services.
“It is part of the Mayor’s Invest to Earn strategy which has so far delivered 1,600 new jobs, attracted £150m of additional funding and is generating £3m per year to support essential services.”
The training ground redevelopment proposals come at an exciting time for Everton, with new plans to revamp the club’s 40,000-seat Goodison Park stadium having been submitted last month.
Delegates at The Stadium Business Design & Development Summit, which will take place in Liverpool and Manchester from October 31 to November 2, will be able to see first-hand the context of the plans during a tour of Goodison Park. Click here for more information.
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