A general view of Everton fans flags and banners during the Premier League match between Everton FC and Newcastle United at Goodison Park on April 27, 2023
A general view of Everton fans flags and banners during the Premier League match between Everton FC and Newcastle United at Goodison Park on April 27, 2023
Everton supporters will always miss the atmosphere at Goodison Park, but staying put was never an option on Merseyside.
That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider that staying at their historic stadium was not financially "viable".
The Toffees are now playing their football at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, with a continued debate amongst the fanbase over the club's new atmosphere.
David Moyes' side are just the latest Premier League club to move homes in the last few years, and so far, it seems to be working for the players.
Borson even believes that Hill Dickinson will be a 'key selling feature' for The Friedkin Group (TFG) to secure a £1billion takeover in the coming months.
The debate is likely to go on for years, as many label the new stadium as soulless and a bowl, but it is the Toffees' new home, whether fans like it or not.
'Everton could have copied Anfield, but it would have been extremely expensive'
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson has explained that rebuilding Goodison Park would have been far too expensive for any owners.
"If you're a traditionalist, you never wanted to move from Goodison Park, ever. You'd patch the stadium up," he said.
"You'd do what Liverpool have done at Anfield, in terms of developing stand-by-stand as you go. And many fans would very, very much be up for that.
"And it keeps this super historic stadium. But I don't think from a business perspective it was viable. It becomes extremely expensive to maintain an old stadium.
"It's obvious that Everton would have needed to introduce huge amounts of hospitality into the stadium as it currently was built, which means that you've got a renovation cost that's going to be enormous.
"The main stand at Everton, clearly it's just not comparable to a modern stadium. So I don't think it was the real world in any situation to stay at Goodison Park."
TFG's £1bn valuation could become a reality
While supporters will go back-and-forth on the atmosphere on Bramley-Moore Docks, nobody can deny the financial factors behind the new stadium.
Borson believes that the Hill Dickinson will play into TFG being able to sell the club for huge profit, but only if they can find the right buyers, of course.
Amanda Staveley has been strongly linked with the Toffees, while Alisher Usmanov is one of the latest names to be thrown into the ring.
The price tag is certainly not a figure to scoff at, and taking the club off TFG's hands will be a huge decision for anyone. But there are many positives to buying Everton.