Stefan Borson drops Everton stadium claim as new issue emerges
Everton hosted a small number of fans for the first time at their new stadium on Bramley-Moore Dock last week.
A test event saw 10,000 supporters pack into the stadium’s South Stand for the first of three trials over the course of the next few months, with Everton Under-18s suffering a 2-1 loss against Wigan Under-18s.
The state-of-the-art new stadium is set to open fully in time for the start of the 2025-26 campaign and cost around £750million to build.
Former Goodison Park chief Keith Wyness told Football Insider the train links near Everton’s new stadium are “not fit for purpose”.
Sandhills Station is the closest train link to Bramley-Moore Dock and is around 15 minutes away on foot.
Finance expert Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider it’s down to the local government to pay for the necessary infrastructure improvements around the stadium.
The next test event will see Everton Under-21s play a friendly at the 52-888-seater facility in late March or early April, with the capacity increased to 25,000.
Government told to complete Everton stadium improvements
Borson insisted the authorities have to find a way to improve the transport links to the new stadium.
He told Football Insider: “I don’t think it’s feasible that the club would pay for the improvements.
“I don’t know where that would fit in to their plan. Clearly, under the new ownership, they must have thought about how the stadium works.
“I think it’s for the local government to be able to sort out the infrastructure around the new stadium, such that it can develop the whole area. That is the point of building big projects and getting businesses like Everton to build massive infrastructure.
“Part of the quid pro quo for the local government is to fund the infrastructure to get people in and out of those areas, so that you can start to redevelop the area and it can economically lift up the entire space.
“I think they have got to find a way. I don’t know enough about the details, but it doesn’t seem to be beyond the whit of man to get people four or five miles up the road.
“We are not talking about two hours away. We are talking about relatively short distances from established infrastructure, so it has to happen.”
| Ranking | Stadium | Capacity |
| 1 | Old Trafford (Man United) | 74,197 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (Tottenham) | 62,850 |
| 3 | London Stadium (West Ham) | 62,500 |
| 4 | Anfield (Liverpool) | 61,276 |
| 5 | Emirates Stadium (Arsenal) | 60,704 |
| 6 | Etihad Stadium (Man City) | 52,900 |
| 7 | Everton Stadium – when open (Everton) | 52,888 |
Everton set for ‘massive’ rebuild after contract update
Everton had a relatively quiet January transfer window after only strengthening their side with the loan signing of midfielder Carlos Alcaraz from Flamengo.
The window prompted disappointment from some fans, who may have been expecting a more comprehensive overhaul of the squad after The Friedkin Group’s takeover.
Borson previously told Football Insider Everton are set to undergo a “massive” rebuild due to the number of players out of contract at the end of this season.
David Moyes has drastically turned the club’s fortunes around on the pitch in recent weeks, with his side now sitting 14th in the Premier League table.
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