Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has claimed that the realisation of the club's new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock will cost in the region of £760m.
Moshiri, who had penned a response to questions posed by the Everton Fans' Forum on Wednesday, appeared on Jim White and Simon Jordan's talkSPORT show via a pre-recorded interview where he was quizzed on the current state of the club and its plans moving forward.
In the interview Moshiri, who has been Everton owner since 2016, spoke of the Everton Stadium development on the banks of the River Mersey, describing it as a "£760m" project, a figure that is some £260m more than the £505m figure for construction that has long been suggested by club officials.
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"Building a £760m stadium, one of the best in the country, is an enormous challenge for a club," said Moshiri.
"They (Everton supporters) need to acknowledge that they are going through a transformation and they (the Everton board) are working extremely hard."
Club sources claim that the figure Moshiri quoted is inclusive of every facet of the stadium, from design and planning to construction and even including the potential for further ancillary developments related to the stadium, which began its process after Moshiri took over in 2016, it being seen as vital in order for Everton to compete in the future and not get left behind commercially.
Club sources also state the the cost of construction has not changed and that the contract signed last year with construction firm Laing O'Rourke, who have been tasked with the build, has not altered and the cost certainty over the project remains as it did.
The funding for the stadium has yet to be secured in its entirety and Moshiri, who has pledged a considerable amount to bring about the realisation of the project, which is due to open in time for the start of the 2024/25 season, is on the hunt for external investment to acquire the remainder of the funds. Major investment banks JP Morgan Chase and MUFG have both been tasked with aiding the investment search.
Financial sources in the US that the ECHO spoke to in New York back in October said that there had been expressions of interest made from some investment funds in the project but that nothing had crystallised into top level talks. The ECHO was told as recently as last week that the same interest remains.
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