Joe Anderson has defended plans to loan £280 million to Everton’s new stadium.
Liverpool City Council will act as a Special Purchase Vehicle in the Blues’ aim to move to a site at the Bramley Moore Dock within the next four years.
The club revealed at its General Meeting on Tuesday that the local authority would provide funding for two-thirds of the costs required to build the stadium.
Everton chairman Bill Kenwright admitted that estimates now place the project at around £500m: almost three times the figure of their failed move to Kirkby.
But with interest costs of the loan to Everton is expected to generate £7m a year for the council, Mayor Anderson insists the arrangement is a ‘no risk’ deal on their part.
“There is no risk to the city or the council from what we are doing,” he told the Liverpool Echo.
“We are trying to bring in more revenue, and this should make a profit of nearly £200m over the next 25 years.
“There are restrictions on what we can do with revenue support grant money and council tax. They pay for services, so no one need worry about that.
“What we can do as a council is borrow at cheap rates, and with that money we can help regenerate a wide area of north Liverpool as well as helping Everton.
“People have got to understand this is a commercial deal to enable us to make money.”