Everton are hoping that their new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock will be a 'game changer' for them on the world stage.
The site on the banks of the River Mersey has started to take shape in recent months with the steel framework for the 52,888-seater stadium rising from the ground and becoming a visible part of the Liverpool skyline.
For Everton, a club that has had to contend with financial challenges stemming from their heavy spend in the early years of Farhad Moshiri's tenure as owner and the ending of sponsorship deals with key partners USM Holdings due to the sanctions placed upon USM chief and Moshiri's long-time business associate Alisher Usmanov as a result of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, finding a way to raise revenues across the board is vital for the long-term vision of being both financial sustainable and successful on the pitch.
The stadium build itself is likely to push the £500m mark, a large chunk of the funding likely to arrive through outside investment that Moshiri is actively seeking.
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Despite the issues that have meant that Everton have had to impose a more austere approach to their transfer spend over the last 12 months or so to allow them to strengthen this summer and remain with the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules that they had been at risk of breaching at one stage, the club have managed to forge ahead with the work and the timescale for completion remains on track, the club hoping to be in situ at their new home for the beginning of the 2024/25 season.
Negotiating fixed costs with the construction firm responsible for the work, Laing O'Rourke, has been key to ensuring plans remain on course and removing the risks that existed due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the potential increase in steel price and the considerable extra cost of the logistics around the build due to the increase in the price of fuel.
A new stadium for Everton is something that has been needed for the club to grow commercially. While their long-time home of Goodison Park will be impossible to replace, it has placed constraints on the club's ability to add new revenue streams and increase existing ones, and the considerable 13,316 increase in capacity - a 33.6 per cent increase - will yield far higher matchday revenues as it helps to service demand.
"The stadium is progressing really well, construction wise," Everton chief commercial officer Richard Kenyon told the ECHO.
"While no-one could have seen what lay ahead a few years ago, it was brilliant planning from our CEO, chairman and owner to enter into an agreement with Laing O’Rourke which gives the club certainty over costs.
"The new stadium will make a significant impact for the club commercially. Our revenues will be enhanced through a variety of things.
"Through partnerships the club will have access to new inventory, including stadium rights, while ticketing will see revenues rise through increases in some prices and an increased capacity.
"We will have more quantity when it comes to bars and restaurants, crucially giving us a much greater choice than we have had at Goodison Park, with additional concourse food and beverage sales.
"We are aiming to make the stadium a 365 destination which has attractions on site and which can drive revenues all year round, which we can't at present. Additional revenue will arrive from such things as stadium tours and non-matchday events that will include, but not be limited to, music concerts."
Bridging the gap between themselves and the so-called 'big six' is the biggest challenge. When Moshiri took over the reins at the Toffees in 2016 he was a willing spender in the transfer market as he sought to try and get closer to Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, the goal to try and reach the promised land of the Champions League and tap into the vast revenues that it brings.
But as things failed to click on the pitch the issue over revenues not rising as fast as the spend and underpinning it within the Premier League's P&S rules was also a potential problem.
Having had to do some belt tightening over the last year there are green shoots of recovery that can be seen. The Everton focus, while ultimately to challenge the Premier League's biggest on and off the field, has been realigned to ensure that they first become the leaders of the chasing pack, making sure that it is they who take the fight to the 'big six'.
Part of the plan to grow the club and create new revenue streams that will allow them to spend more freely in the market on players they feel will elevate them on the pitch is to increase their global presence.
Everton already have considerable fan base internationally, their most recent summer tour to the US showcasing how strong the brand is across the Atlantic. It is an opportunity that Everton have acknowledged, working closely with Miami-based Pulse Sports to help increase their visibility as well as inking a deal with the global merchandising brand Fanatics to enable them to get more product to global fans with greater ease.
It is a strategy that also forms part of the thinking around the Bramley Moore Dock development, with Everton chiefs wanting to raise the club's profile on a truly global scale. It is something that is already having an effect.
Kenyon said: "Less quantifiably perhaps, we believe that the new stadium will be a game-changer in terms of how the club is viewed globally– and we’re already seeing the benefit of this in commercial conversations we’re having and deals we’ve done."
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