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In March this year, the Directors commissioned a further feasibilitystudy to report on the options of remaining at the ancestral home ofGoodison Park, engaging Architects Ward McHugh Associates andAccountants Deloitte & Touche, to investigate the architectural issuesand commercial viability of the project. Remaining at Goodison Parkrealistically centres around two options.

THE EXTENDED GOODISON FOOTPRINT OPTIONThe opportunity to redevelop a new 55 ,000capacity stadium would necessitate usextending the existing footpr int from 8 to15 acres. If achievable this would also givethe Club the opportunity to create a mix ofcommercial and retail development whichin theory should havesupported the projectfinanc ially. This extended footprint wouldhowever have necessitated the permanentclosure of Bullens Road, compulsorypurchase of 91 residential properties and therelocation of the Gwladys Street School. Tosome degreea number of these issuescouldhave been overcome by offering to re-housethe school and approximately half theresidentia l properties on the former EileenCraven School site (Walton Lane). Deloitte& Touche advised us however, that their researchhad indicated that the revenue created fromany ancillary development was unlikely tobe substant ial and as such a new stadiumwas likely to have a net cost to the Club ofapproaching 50m, all of which would havehad to be financed by the Club itself. '.We shared our plans with Mr D Henshaw,Liverpool City Council's Chief Executive.Senior City Council officers responded bysuggesting that the problems associatedwith such a proposal would have beenenormous and would meet with substant ialobjections from not only local residents, butalso the City Planners, as the scheme felloutside the Liverpool Unitary DevelopmentPlan. The Club could certainly still , andmay still have to, pursue this avenue butour advice is that it would take years for aneventual outcome to be made known andwith little likelihood of success.

THE EXISTING GOODISON FOOTPRINT OPTIONTototally redevelop Goodison Park on theexisting 8-acre site in a phased manner. Inthese circumstances planning issues wouldnot be such a major obstacle. Howevergiven the constraints of the site we would

be restricted to building a 45,000 capacitystadium. This alternative scheme could onlybe achieved by a phased redevelopment over a3/4 year period, with our capacity beingreduced to around 30,000 for anyone periodduring redevelopment and would be greaterfor a major part of anyone season. That initself would have put a strain on being ableto satisfy the demands from our supportersas our average attendance in recent years hasreached 35,000 .Infight ofall these considerations the Board hadfeltthey had no alternative but to investigatealternative sites within the City boundaries.THE KINGS DOCK WATERFRONT OPPORTUNITYThis summer the Board decided to explorean interest in the Kings Dock site currentlyowned by The English Partnership . The siteis described as being one of the most excitingwaterfront development opportunities inEurope and simply cannot be ignored. Ourult imate vision would be to create a unique55,000 super stadium, retaining many ofGoodison's traditional features.Historically the name of Everton has beensynonymous with being at the foref ront ofstadium design. The Kings Dock site offersus a once in a lifetime chance to investigatein detai l a proposal to build a new home forthe benefit of futuregenerations of Evertonians.The new stadium would be owned andcontrol led by the Club and with theintroduction of a retractable roof and pitchthe stadium could be transformed into afuturistic indoor arena capable of stagingmajor Exhibit ions and Conferences. Simplyimagine World Championship Boxing or TheSoccer Ex event coming to Liverpool, not tomention the opportunity created by joiningforces with entertainment giants SFX tobring the top names in music to our city. Allthese additional features would not onlybenefit the Club but would attract muchneeded inward investment to our city andplace the Everton Brand on the world stage.

There are still issues to be addressed beforeour vision could become a reality..For instance we must receive guarantees thatan integrated transport and infrastructure planisdelivered to cope with the additionalpressures such a development would create.The Board must give detai led considerationto the financial consequences of any suchproposal. This must not put an undueburden on our financial resources. Too oftenin the past we have seen clubs create a newfacil ity or stadium only to have to sell theirbest players to f inance the project. TheBoard is clearly of the view that any stadiummust be capable of increasing our revenuestreams, to assist with further strengthen ingof the squad rather than weakening it. Theearly indicators are that the Kings Dockscheme may ultimately cost the Clubconsiderably less than either of the twoGoodison options.

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WATERFRONT STA

The Kings Dock isthe largest availablesite in Liverpool CityCentre.

The location hasgood access toLiverpool City Centre. Very visual, highlyprominent waterfrontsite.

The Club has theability to secureownership as the siteis owned by EnglishPartnerships. A site that seeks toprovide a facility inaccordance withGovernment IRegional Guidance. Unlike Goodison, asite that should haveLocal Authority support.

A site that wouldhave substantialurban regenerationbenefits.

A site that wouldhave substantialeconomic benefit tothe City of Liverpool. A site that is withinan area that hasaccess to publicfunding, through ERDF.

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KINGS DOCK

THEREFORE, THE BOARD SEEKS YOUR MANDATE TO DO THE FOLLOWING:Fully investigate the opportunity at the Kings Dock. Everton to join a Consortium,together with a first class Development Partner, and co-ordinate with English Partnerships,Liverpool Vision, Liverpool City Council and North West Development Agency.

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OPTION TWO This Option provides forredevelopment of the whole areabounded by Goodison Road,Gwladys Street and Walton Lane,and allows for a new Ground to bedeveloped on a bigger footprint tothat of Option One.

In th is case the newly rebu i ItGround would provide a totalcapacity of 55,000, with a stadiumwhich would retain many of thefeatures associated with GoodisonPark, as described in Option One.

The redevelopment would need tobe phased, and could takebetween 3 to 4 years to complete,but the Club would cont inue toplay all the ir home matches atGoodison Park. The capacityshould not fall below 30,000 atanyone time, and would begreater than this for the majorpart of anyone season.

Developing the larger site wouldaIlow for safer spectatormovement around the Ground,and provide a more appropriatesetting. It would also allowfor additional commercialdevelopment to help the Club fundthe redevelopment proposals.

The existing Gwladys StreetInfants School could be relocatedin a brand new school bui ld ing onthe old Eileen Craven School site,which would also have room for asignificant number of new housesto be buiIt as replacements.

There would be excel lent views ofthe pitch from all parts of the newstadium, with safe, comfortableand convenient facil ities for allspectators, including thosesupporters with disabiIities.