Everton’s move to a new stadium "edged a little closer when the Premier League club formally signed an agreement to lease land at the proposed Bramley Moore Dock site on Thursday," according to Martyn Herman of REUTERS. The 200-year lease, for a "peppercorn" rent, is still conditional upon the club "gaining consent and securing a funding package but it means the club now effectively owns the land on which the stadium is to be built." The new stadium is "expected to be the catalyst" for a proposed £5.5B ($7.3B) regeneration of north Liverpool, including leisure and residential facilities, two river terminals and a cruise liner terminal on the Mersey. Liverpool Waters Project Dir Ian Pollitt said, "We know that a world-class stadium on the banks of the River Mersey will act as a trigger for even more investment and jobs, which will be of huge benefit to the whole city region" (REUTERS, 11/23). In London, Chris Bascombe reported Everton took a "major step forward" in its plans for a £300M ($400.1M) new stadium. It "ends an extensive search" over 20 years to "find an appropriate venue" away from Goodison Park. The lease was signed with Peel Land & Property (TELEGRAPH, 11/23). BDAILY's Richard Bell reported commercial property firm CBRE, Everton's adviser on the Bramley Moore Dock project, estimated that the new stadium will deliver a £1B ($1.3B) "boost for the local economy and stimulate the creation of over 15,000 jobs" (BDAILY, 11/24).
