Maguire: Everton will 'sweat the asset' as intriguing stadium update revealed
The Everton hierarchy have shown shrewd business sense in making their mooted new home a multipurpose stadium.
That is according to finance guru and new Football Insider columnist Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively after the £500m Bramley Moore Dock Stadium was recommended for approval on Monday of last week.
Everton have been searching for a new home for the best part of the 21st century, with proposed stadiums in 2003 and 2009 abandoned for planning reasons.
The new 52,000-seater waterside stadium could open in 2024 and will be a multi-operational venue designed to stage functions and concerts as well as football.
Maguire explained the economic utility of a multipurpose stadium and how it will allow Everton to "sweat the asset" to great effect.
He told Football Insider correspondent Adam Williams: "If you think about a supermarket or car dealership, they're open five or six days a week. Therefore you're generating revenue 300+ days a year.
"If you've got a football ground and it's only open for Premier League matches and a couple of cup games, Everton could end up with an asset which is only used 20 or 25 days a year.
"Then it wouldn't be generating money for the other 340. Having a multipurpose stadium allows you to sweat that asset.
"It's got the facilities, conference rooms, catering, functions and so on, and you can start to utilise it on a day-by-day basis as opposed to once a fortnight for 10 months of the year."
The mood is positive around Goodison Park at present with Everton gunning for a first top-four finish since 2005.
Carlo Ancelotti's side beat Liverpool at Anfield for the first time since 1999 on Saturday and drew level on points with their rivals with a game in hand.