Monday, November 30, 2009

Liverpool Will Never Agree To Everton Ground-share Proposal


Liverpool have rejected the chance to share a super-stadium with Everton.

Sunday Mirror Sport can reveal that Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett will not accept a proposal from Blues chief executive Robert Elstone that the Merseyside rivals should ground share.

A senior Anfield source said: “There is absolutely no chance that Liverpool will be sharing a stadium with Everton. It will never happen.”

Elstone called on Liverpool to go to the negotiating table after the government refused to grant permission for Everton to build a £400million new stadium and retail park in Kirkby.

Liverpool have had plans rubber-stamped for a 60,000-capacity stadium at Stanley Park.

But the project had to be shelved when the economic downturn made it impossible for them to finance the development.

However, the club’s American owners are confident that they will secure the £350m they need for the stadium once the pressure on the financial markets has eased.

And they expect to raise about £150m of the cash through stadium naming rights.

The gap in capacity between the Mersey giants and the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal has led to a gulf in revenue that shows no sign of changing.

And stadium ownership is one of the main assets football clubs can use on their balance sheet.

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