Everton have revealed ‘overwhelming’ public support for their new stadium.
Plans to relocate the Blues to a site at the Bramley-Moore Dock were given a 94 per cent approval rating during a series of public consultations held last year.
A further 95 per cent of respondents backed plans to transform the club’s current Goodison Park home into a development to benefit the local community.
Over 20,000 questionnaires with three out of four non-Everton supporting respondents backing the proposed 52,000-capacity venue in the Liverpool docks.
Professor Denise Barrett-Baxendale, Everton’s CEO, said: “We were delighted to hear from Evertonians and fans of other clubs as well as people who don’t follow football.
“These results are more than a vote of confidence in our plans; they show people recognise the transformational impact our stadium will have on North Liverpool and indeed the positive effect it will have on the wider city region.
“A new stadium will unlock a unique opportunity for our city region by delivering a £1billion boost to the economy, 15,000 jobs and an estimated 1.5million new visitors to the city as well as the regeneration of North Liverpool, including a community-led legacy at Goodison Park.”
All comments in the consultations will be used to help shape a detailed planning application for the Bramley-Moore site, expected to be submitted later this year.
Colin Chong, Everton’s Stadium Development Director, added: “We set out with the objective of understanding what the people of the city region thought of the principles of our plans.
“The response has been fantastic and we’ve received an overwhelming endorsement from the people that the underlying principles of our approach meet with their approval.
“As we move forward with our plans, the feedback we’ve received at this first stage will help inform the details we’ll present at the second stage of consultation which will take place in the summer.”