Everton Chief Executive Keith Wyness Answers Shareholders' Questions
Within the membership of the Shareholders Association, there is a wide range of views on the issue of the proposed move to Kirkby. As a result, the Association does not have an official stance on this. In the ballot, each shareholder will make his/her own decision.
The Shareholders Association committee has had several dialogues with the club over the last year on this issue.
Having read all the statements from the club, sought the views of Shareholders Association members, and listened to the views of many people in this debate, the Shareholders Association committee decided at a meeting on July 31st to put a series of questions to chief executive Keith Wyness in an attempt to clarify some of the issues our members have raised.
The questions were emailed to Keith on August 1st and he replied within a few hours. We thank Keith for his speedy response. We also appreciate the fact that the club is holding a ballot and that the question is a simple, non-loaded one.
The nine questions and answers are:
1) Asked about the total projected construction cost of the stadium,
you said (in an interview with Bluekipper contributor Michael Durkin) it
will be "less than £100million".
a) Can you now elaborate further? For instance, what would be the minimum.
b) How much will Everton be expected to pay?
c) And how will we fund this?
KW: I expect our final contribution to be around £50m. This will be funded by the sale of Goodison and sale of naming rights. Should those 2 sources not reach £50m then we would add some long term debt.
2) Many stadium projects end up costing more than originally envisaged.
a) If the stadium at Kirkby goes over-budget, who will pay the extra costs?
b) Would we be expected to contribute towards any over-run?
c) If so, what percentage of the over-run?
KW: It depends what the cost overruns are for. If we were to upgrade parts of the plan or decide on changes then we would pay for those. If it is due to inflation we expect to share such an increase in an equitable way with our partners. There is no doubt that cost overruns may happen and we still have enough flexibility in our ability to secure further debt to cover that eventuality.
3) If we do move to a stadium at Kirkby,
a) who will own it?
b) If we are renting or leasing it, how much will we have to pay each year?
KW: We would have a peppercorn rent and a 999-year lease which is effectively freehold. It would be our asset and we believe valued at around £150m.
4) Transport links
a) This site appears to be heavily dependent on the M57. Do you think the
motorway system, as it is, could cope with the extra traffic on matchdays?
b) If improvements are planned, who will be paying for them?
c) The public transport links from the city centre to Kirkby are a
Merseyrail service and a bus ride of around 40 minutes. Does the club
think this will be sufficient.
d) If not, what plans are in place?
e) And who will pay for improvements?
We note that the much-hyped, planned tram link between Kirkby and Liverpool was cancelled amid much wrangling several years ago.
KW: The transportation experts who have done the initial study have said this will be the best served stadium for transportation in the NW. Improvements to the M57 junction would not be our cost nor the improved train station. There will be Park and Ride and Park and walk as well as limited onsite parking. All the transportation plans will be revealed in due course.
5) Would ticket prices at Kirkby be
(i) more expensive than they would be at Goodison, in order to meet our
contribution towards the cost of the stadium
(ii) about the same as they would be if we stayed at Goodison
(iii) cheaper than if we stayed at Goodison; if so, how could we afford
this reduction?
KW: There is no reason why our ticket pricing would change dramatically. I expect some inflationary increases and the corporate areas may increase due to better facilities, but, the club will remain roughly where it is in the league table of pricing.
6) Goodison Park
a) Has a buyer been lined up for the land?
b) If so, who is the buyer?
c) How much do we expect to receive?
d) What do they intend to use the site for?
e) Is there any chance of it being used as a car park by Liverpool fans?
f) Would the club contemplate selling the site to LFC?
KW: There is no buyer lined up, but, we expect the land to be sold for residential. It will categorically not be sold for a Liverpool car park or to Liverpool FC and we would put a covenant on any sale to that effect. The scale of the development that receives planning approval will dictate the final price.
7) Corporate seats
a) How many are planned for the stadium at Kirkby?
b) How many are there currently at Goodison?
KW: We have around 1300 corporate spaces at present and we would go to 3500 overall.
8) In the interview with Michael Durkin, you stated that they are looking at an average of 40,000 at Kirkby; this is only around 4,000 or 5,000 more than we get at Goodison, how would this relatively small difference help our financial position?
KW: That must have been a misquote as we expect the averages to be in the 40's. There will be a New Stadium effect for up to 3 years after which time the success of the team will dictate how well we do.
9) Finally, a piece of clarification: Several years ago, the club entered a 25-year securitisation deal, effectively a long-term loan, based on season ticket sales. This is a stand-alone deal that will not be affected by a move to Kirkby, or anywhere else. Correct?
KW: The securitisation will not be affected and the increased attendance along with other new revenue streams make it easier for us to service that debt.