Everton held a successful test evacuation from their new stadium on Sunday, because it appeared that only two percent of the £ 800 million costs of building came through public money.
The evacuation, 65 minutes in a match between the under-21 year of Everton and Bolton Wanderers, was part of the club's attempt to obtain a safety certificate for the Waterfront Stadium of 52,888 capacity, where they will play from next season.
At a time when the owner of Manchester United Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants hundreds of millions of pounds of public money to make the construction of the new Old Trafford possible, Everton's stage in Bramley Moore Dock has only taken £ 15 million from the public wallet.
Even that is clear for local heritage work to restore a grade II mentioned Victorian hydraulic tower and engine room building, at the stadium location, which helped to provide the dock with electricity in its heyday. The costs of preserving the tower are four times the size of the size of the municipality that Everton was given to restore it. The club makes the tower part of the new stadium experience, but still decide how.
Fans who attended the test event said it was correct that Everton should not have received any public money to build their stadium. 'We are a Premier League club. What would it look like in a city under public cash and public services if we had received money? “Said a fan, 40-year-old Jan Stevens, as she joined the evacuation. “It should be the same for Manchester United. They should not have public money. '
Many of the 25,000 fans during the test event experienced the stadium for the first time. It was clear that the steep sided stands – part of the work of the American architect than girl to preserve the intensity of Goodison – will create an intense atmosphere when Everton starts playing.
There were indications of fan bottles at MerseyRail Sandhills station, which serves the stadium and is a sturdy course of a distance. There was overcrowding in the stadium about two hours before the kick -off, with trains that ran every 15 minutes and so full that they could not stop at some stations. Services probably seem to run more often on the right match days, although there is still clear work.
There was less crowds after the game, with queues moved and waiting times shorter. Everton won the game via a Kingsford Boayke header.
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