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Pt1
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]INTERVIEW WITH ROBERT ELSTONE[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]By[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Mickey Blue Eyes.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Friday, 19th October 2009: To Goodison Park for a 3.00pm interview of CEO Robert Elstone.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I hoped the Kirkby decision would be known by the time of our meeting. Alas.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]This time only forty-five minutes could be afforded on account of another more important meeting at Finch Farm, so the closing third of the session was hurried.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Make up your own mind. Here’s the transcript:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]MBE Thanks for seeing me, Robert. I hoped the Kirkby thing would have been decided by now, so perhaps it’s convenient to start with that. Can you give an update so far as the club is concerned?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]RE Well, we’re definitely into the rumour and speculation season. During the last month we found ourselves reacting to “leaks” from all sorts of sources claiming they knew the decision was coming out tomorrow. This led to calls to our partners to see if anyone had any inside knowledge. They hadn’t. So far it’s all been rumour without foundation. The decision backstop date is still the end of November, which is only five or six weeks away. That’s what we are working to at the moment, though I suppose it could be any time between now and then. It’s going to happen soon that’s for sure.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]MBEMBE The biggest operational question that came up during the saga was the issue of fans transport to the site. Has there been any further movement on that issue? You did talk at one time about a “Transport Group.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]RE At the moment, for good reason, many aspects of the stadium project have been put on ice until we get the decision. There’s no point wasting time and incurring costs if the answer is a No. For instance there is little point in conducting talks for naming rights with a company if we don’t have a stadium to show them. Any interested party would ask us to come back when we know we have something tangible to sell. Of course, we’ll pick up on everything again once the decision is known. We agree and we acknowledge that providing a working transport plan is key to the success of the project. It is deliverable and we have the biggest reason of all to make sure it works.............[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]MBEMBE ............Which is why I ask. During the inquiry and the debate it was rightly mooted that stadium capacity could be reduced if transport and access are not suitable. There seems little or no gain in continuing with a stadium of similar capacity (or only slightly more) than existing if the transport is not dealt with adequately...........[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]RE ...........That’s true. Transport will be top of our priorities if the Government answer is Yes. There is an agreement with Knowsley concerning the matter because it is something they had to have for planning purposes, to protect them from the highly unlikely possibility of severe traffic problems. We are confident we can avoid such problems. Our message is that we cannot be in any way complacent on transport issues or any other project issue. We will deliver a transport plan that works. It’s in everyone’s interests to do so.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]MBEMBE That leads me on to a much more important strategic question if the answer is Yes, that of financing the project during a financial depression. Can we even secure the finance, let alone start the scheme?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]RE It is certainly the case that the funding model we had twelve months ago – which was the sale of Goodison Park, the sale of naming rights, the sale of Bellefield, support from other sponsors, funding from caterers and other suppliers, and inevitably an element of borrowing – all of that mix is harder now than when the plans were first put together. We’re under no illusions that funding will be much harder in the present climate. But, we remain confident it can be delivered using the sources of funds we anticipated. If we get a positive decision our first step will be to meet with our partners to explore all funding options. At the same time we will move forward on naming rights - a powerful marketing tool proven by the Emirates stadium. It will all be hard, but the Board is confident funding can be put in place and the stadium delivered.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]MBEMBE Then there’s the question of timescale. If the answer is Yes are you still aiming for the same programme?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]RE Yes, we are. We are still looking at 2012 opening, though that is contingent on obtaining necessary finance within the right timeframe. To date all our financial efforts have gone into developing first team and youth football, improving the squad, and supporting David Moyes’s drive to take us further up the league table. We’re certainly not sitting on funds tucked away for the new stadium. And we will still need to secure funds in the short term. Anybody going to the bank knows it isn’t easy and we’re no exception. But if we get naming rights in place then 2012 is very much deliverable.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]MBEMBE Fallback position if the government answer is negative? Are there any proposals to do anything at Goodison Park? Is there any ROOM to do anything at Goodison?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]RE We said at the EGM that wholesale stadium change at Goodison isn’t possible, practical or affordable. That remains the case. What we can do is relatively minor re-planning within existing space, but the overall economic affect would be minor. For instance, our new retail partner Kitbag is keen to get more retail space, which we can potentially deliver through use of the first floor at Everton One (formerly the Megastore) in Walton Lane. Also, our ticket office in Goodison Road could potentially be used for a lounge. We also need to re-house some of our office space. But none of it would materially affect the bottom line of club business, which is to give David Moyes more money to spend on the first team. But none of those measures would help us substantially protect our position at the top end of the Premier League. That can only be achieved in a new stadium with more revenue. Without the wholesale re-development of our facilities to offer fans and sponsors more opportunities and better value for money, the challenge of mounting a serious and prolonged challenge to the Champions League clubs is much greater.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Of course we’re aware of various other outline ideas, of a possible shared stadium and other sites etc. But none of them deal with the most important factor of all and that is affordability and funding solutions, which are hard and unavoidable facts of life. I’m sure fans appreciate we have to deal with reality. We have to go out and find the money. The real beauty of the Kirkby project is that it is substantially funded by private sector support. Without that it wouldn’t have any legs. It also has considerable support from Knowsley Council in various other ways. This private and public sector support has not come forward on any other scheme that has been considered or presented. As I said, the first questions we have to ask on any scheme is, “How much?” and “Where does the money come from?” If those questions aren’t answered then it is obviously impossible to proceed. Nobody should lose sight of the fact that around 40 percent of the cost of the new stadium will be met by Tesco.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]MBEMBE Club finances. What has been the nett affect of season ticket sales this year?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]RE The final figure was about fifteen hundred up on last season. We are delighted with that. The season ticket campaign set prices fairly and we introduced a payment plan that was reasonable and attractive. We also think we marketed it pretty well. Of course, it’s also true that the season ticket numbers came on the back of a great season and a Cup Final. As for budgeted numbers, we always set our targets higher and it has been gratifying to see the fans respond so well. Final figures just about beat our budget. Fans will have also seen on Saturday the launch of our Half Season Ticket campaign. A great Christmas present for any Evertonian![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]MBEMBE Lounges take-up? That fell back slightly last year didn’t it?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]RE Yes. Occupancies continue to be static. However, we invested some money in what was “The Marquee” but is now “Club Everton,” and, albeit slowly, that is paying dividends. For Saturday’s game V Wolves, Club Everton was full, which we are delighted about. There’s a great atmosphere in there, it’s good value for money, and we’ve added to the entertainment. But it’s fair to say corporate hospitality is the area where these difficult economic times are pinching hardest. Ultimately our lounges are filled with Everton businessmen. We used to “beat ourselves up” a bit because we had difficulty attracting a wider corporate clientele. In the end, though, having Evertonian clients has stood us in good stead because they are probably more resilient in an economic downturn. Our corporate support from Evertonians is excellent. But even there it is noticeable that Everton businessmen are going from a table for eight to a table for six, and a table for six to a table for four. It isn’t that they’re turning their backs in any way, just that they have to economise like everybody else. It’s something we’ll need to keep working hard on. To that end we’re trying to recruit extra corporate sales staff – that’s always been a challenge for me, finding good salespeople; we have a good team but it’s too small.[/FONT]