MANCHESTER: Everton will not play competitive fixtures at their new stadium until the 2025-26 season, the club's interim CEO Colin Chong said yesterday, but he stressed the late start is not due to construction delays.
Everton Stadium, Chong said in a statement on the club's website, is still on track to be completed by late 2024. The news comes after Chong met with the Fan Advisory Board.
"Firstly, and to be absolutely clear, our decision to not move in mid-season is not because of a construction delay," Chong wrote.
"It is a club decision driven by a combination of commercial insight, a comprehensive review of the logistics required, an analysis of the potential impact upon our football operations and, importantly, fan feedback sourced as part of our recent stadium migration survey, which was completed by almost 10,000 Evertonians."
Chong said test events need to be conducted at the new stadium in order to obtain the required Safety Certificate, and the events will "give Evertonians a chance to see and sample the new facilities".
"Some of our test events will involve crowds of varying capacities, while others will need to be operationally focused and only involve our own staff," he said.
Chong also said there will be a year-long send-off celebration before the Goodison Park gates are closed after nearly 134 years.
Everton are 17th in the standings, four points clear of the relegation zone, after the Premier League handed them a 10-point deduction for breaching profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) relating to losses. Everton have filed an appeal.
Should Everton be relegated, a 2025-26 start date in the new stadium would at least give them a season to fight their way back to the top flight. --REUTERS