Everton 'no longer require' £30m Liverpool regional authority loan for stadium
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Everton's Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium is set to be on Liverpool's waterfront
Everton "no longer require" a £30m loan for their £500m Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium because the club "had found alternative sources of funding", says Liverpool mayor Steve Rotheram.
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority approved a £45m funding package for the stadium last year.
But Everton decided to only take up a £15m grant earlier this year.
Rotheram clarified the funding after a query from Liverpool's Liberal Democrat leader, Councillor Richard Kemp.
Kemp asked whether the mayor had "reassessed" Everton's position with regards to LCRCA money after Everton suspended its sponsorship with companies owned or part-owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov last week.
Usmanov has been sanctioned by the European Union and UK government for his links to Russian president Vladimir Putin after the invasion of Ukraine.
Usmanov's companies - USM Holdings, MegaFon and Yota - are all sponsors of Everton, with the suspension set to cost the club £5m-£10m a year.
USM had also paid £30m for an exclusive naming rights option on the new 52,000-seat stadium, which is set to open in 2024.
Everton accept the suspension of those sponsorships will leave a hole in the club's finances, but insist there is no threat to the long-term future of the club, the playing squad or the building of the stadium, which began a year ago.
In January, owner Farhad Moshiri bought more shares in the club, increasing his stake to 94.1%, which provided Everton with a "£100m capital injection".
Since Usmanov was sanctioned, Moshiri, has since stepped down from his role as chairman of USM and announced he had severed all business links with the Russian.
Mayor Rotheram said: "I was pleased to see Everton take decisive action to close sponsorship arrangements with Russian companies following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
"As with all investments supported by the LCRCA, assurances were sought that the project aligned with our investment strategy, and significant due diligence was undertaken to ensure that the project would provide value for money.
"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.
"We are in contact with Everton about the next steps on the £15m grant, which is intended to preserve the historical assets of the Bramley Dock area, support the wider development of the site, create jobs for local people, and attract visitors to the region."
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