Everton will not be taking up offer of £30m local authority loan for new stadium

Everton will not be taking up the offer of a £30million local authority loan to help fund their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock after sourcing alternative private funding but a £15m grant remains on the table.

Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram confirmed in a statement the loan from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority would now not be required by the club.

“Earlier this year Everton Football Club notified the LCRCA that it had found alternative sources of funding from the private sector and would therefore no longer require the £30m loan,” read the statement.

“We are in contact about the next steps on the £15m grant that is intended to preserve the historical assets of Bramley-Moore Dock, support the wider development of the site, create jobs for local people and attract visitors to the region.”

A funding package to cover the estimated £500m-plus cost of the waterfront stadium has yet to be announced but a £30m deal for first option to buy the naming rights secured by Alisher Usmanov appears unlikely to go any further at this stage.

The club suspended involvement with the billionaire’s businesses, which sponsored the training ground, Goodison Park and women’s team, even before the Government sanctioned the oligarch for his ties to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.