Everton to Submit Plans for New Stadium as Timescale Reportedly Pushed Back to 2023-24 Season

Everton have announced a step forward in their plans to permanently move from Goodison Park, but it could come with its drawbacks, as it is being reported that the new ground won't open until 2023 at the earliest. 

The club released a statement this week, detailing plans to hold a wide-scale public consultation next month, which represents a 'major step forward' in plans to build a new stadium on Bramley-Moore Dock. 

The consultation, starting on November 15th, should last around three weeks, and kicks off the process of submitting planning applications for both the new stadium and a proposed legacy at Goodison Park.

But while the wheels are now in motion, the Mirror have reported that the early stages of the transition aren't quite going seamlessly, claiming that the process will take at least a year longer than initially expected, and that the capacity may not be what the club had initially hoped for. 

The newspaper cites Everton's intention to gain full support from the entire community as the reason for the delays, putting a negative spin on the club's seemingly positive intentions to ensure locals and fans alike are happy with the move before it goes ahead.

It also claims that the capacity is likely to be in the 52-55,000 region, not the 63,000 seater that fans had previously campaigned for. Even then, though, it would still be a significant improvement on Goodison Park, which holds just short of 40,000, and brings them closer to the Premier League's elite - at least as far as stadium capacity goes.

The club say that images of what the new stadium will look like should be available as early as next year, but for the immediate future, fans will be able to complete an online survey and have their views on the proposed move heard from November 15th.