Green light for Toffees move
24 Aug 2007 - 11:37:33
Everton fans have voted in favour of relocating the club to a new 50,000-seater stadium outside the Liverpool city boundaries in Kirkby.
The Toffees balloted 36,000 supporters over the controversial decision to move to the £400million development, which will be backed by supermarket giants Tesco.
Fifty-nine per cent of those supporters who returned completed ballot papers supported the move which will bring the curtain down on the club's 115-year stay at Goodison Park.
When the plans were unveiled earlier in the year, chief executive Keith Wyness described the proposal as "the deal of the century".
However, many Everton fans were upset at the possibility of relocating the club out of the city boundaries and attempted to rally support.
"We are the only major club in Europe to have handed over a decision of such importance and magnitude to its fan-base - something which simply serves to underscore the enormously high regard in which we hold our supporters," read a club statement.
"We now have a mandate to carry on negotiations with our two project partners - Knowsley Borough Council and Tesco.
"Whilst we concede that the proposed move has undoubtedly provoked a heated and sustained debate, it is reassuring to know that the majority of Evertonians do support the club as it pursues its long-held desire to provide a world-class stadium for its world-class support."
