The family of one of the greatest goalscorers ever to grace the English game of football – and undeniably the greatest Everton player of all time – officially blew the whistle and kicked off the construction work on a new £10m luxury hotel in Liverpool today.
The Dixie Dean football themed hotel will be built in tribute and legacy to the iconic Everton FC footballer and England forward.
Barbara Dean, daughter of Dixie Dean, Dixie’s grand daughter Melanie Prentice, his great grandchildren Daniel Prentice and Scarlett Prentice visited the Gothic Jerome and Carlisle buildings on Victoria Street in Liverpool today (Wednesday 7th March ) at 5pm local time.
The family made a special visit to the site before building work officially got underway to turn the Grade II listed building into an exciting new luxury football themed hotel. The 65,000 sq ft project is a joint venture between hotelier Lawrence Kenwright’s Signature Living and the family of Dixie Dean which will be conceived as a tribute to the life and achievements of Everton FC footballing legend and Captain Of England William Ralph Dean.
The £10m hotel is set to transform the Victoria Street area in to the first ever footballing quarter in the city dedicated to Everton FC and Liverpool FC. The building which is expected to be completed later this year is across the road from the world famous Shankly Hotel which was also conceived in tribute to the legendary Liverpool FC manager William “Bill” Shankly. It will now mean both Liverpool footballing legends will be immortalised on the same street in Liverpool with hotels dedicated to their incredible footballing careers.
Both Dixie Dean and Bill Shankly were lifelong friends despite the rivalry of their respective teams. It is the first time that any city in the world has had two themed football hotels conceived to celebrate the achievements of such footballing greats.
Signature Living Chairman Lawrence Kenwright said;
“Our goal was always to build two iconic hotels that would represent the two greatest football teams in English football and to leave a lasting legacy to Everton and Liverpool football clubs. What made this even more unique – was not only the locations of each hotel being across the road from each other – but that we had the full support and blessing of Dixie’s family, without that we would not have been able to do justice to the project.
“When we approached Barbara Dean and her daughter Melanie we were able to come to the project already having successfully launched The Shankly Hotel in conjunction with the Shankly family and Bill’s grandson Chris Carline. We were able to demonstrate what could be achieved and our vision for what will be Liverpool’s first football quarter and a first anywhere in the world for a city to have two hotels developed on the themes of each football club.”
The 100 bedroom hotel will offer restaurants, bars and an events space for weddings as well as museum of memorabilia and history dedicated to the footballing legend and his career. It is also understood that Dixie’s daughter Barbara Dean will also attend special events at the hotel to talk about her father and his phenomenal footballing career.
Commenting on the new hotel Dixie’s daughter Barbara Dean said;
“We were thrilled and honoured to be asked by Lawrence to become a part of this exciting project. It will be amazing experience to see the legacy of my dad and his achievements with the football club he loved so much enshrined for many football fans to enjoy. It is important for us to remember and celebrate that great golden era of football at the time. The friendship between my dad and Bill Shankly was remarkable, despite their fierce club loyalty and rivalry, they were the closest and best of friends. If my dad was alive today he would be so truly proud that his achievements and his legacy would continue to be celebrated in this way. “
Legendary Liverpool Manager Bill Shankly described Dixie as;
“The greatest centre forward there will ever be. His record of goalscoring is the most amazing thing under the sun. He belongs in the company of the supremely great, like Beethoven, Shakespeare and Rembrandt.”
Those words were uttered by Bill Shankly over a lunch with Dean in Liverpool’s Moat House Hotel in 1980. Little did he know that several hours later they would become an obituary to the Everton legend. Shankly and Dean enjoyed one final lunch together in 1980 before they both attended a derby match at Goodison Park together. Dean had a heart attack and passed way moments before the final whistle was blown, taking his last breath at the stadium and football club that had become his life and with his lifelong friend by his side.
The legendary goalscorer who scored 60 goals in a single season and 383 goals in his Everton career set the benchmark for such modern football icons as Lionel Messi and Gerd Muller and a record which still stands today.
Signature Living have also confirmed that it plans to seek permission from Liverpool council to pedestrianise the area and create a tree lined boulevard of statues in honour to both Everton and Liverpool footballing greats including Dixie Dean, and Bill Shankly and will also seek permission to rename the area “Stanley Park Avenue “
The Dixie Dean Hotel will create a further 150 jobs within the hotel for the city and another 100 hundred jobs locally with tradesmen also working on the project. The hotel will give another vital boost to the city’s tourism and hospitality sector. Signature Living has regenerated the Victoria Street end of the city with the development of the Shankly hotel and now the Dixie Dean in what was previously a “no go” area. Now it’s a thriving area with restaurants and bars and its plans to develop the football quarter will create hundreds of jobs and generate further inward investment into the city. At the same time this will also create an amazing football and hospitality experience for the people of Liverpool, football fans and tourists the world over.