English Premier League soccer side Everton FC has announced that it has appointed construction company Laing O’Rourke as its preferred contractor to build its proposed 52,000-capacity stadium.
The club has been through a pain-staking process to build a new stadium on Liverpool’s waterfront area known as Bramley-Moore Dock. In December 2019, Everton revealed its final stadium designs from MEIS Architects, ahead of the submission of a detailed planning application, which is expected to be determined by Liverpool City Council in the summer of 2020.
The stadium design is made of brick, steel and glass, which takes its inspiration from the historic maritime and warehouse buildings nearby. Designed by MEIS architects, the stadium structure combines the historic and modern, with the brick base incorporating a subtle nod to Goodison Park’s famous Archibald Leitch lattice work, while the dynamic roof structure is made from steel and glass giving the stadium a modern finish.
The proposed waterfront stadium comprises of four distinctive stands, including a large, steep ‘home end’ which will house 13,000 fans.
A pre-construction services agreement (PCSA) for a design and build contract is due to be signed after a competitive procurement process. Both parties will now work in partnership to develop a detailed and robust design and delivery program. The program will fully utilize Laing O’Rourke’s digital engineering expertise and industry-leading knowledge of modern methods of construction to bring Everton’s stadium vision to life.
Work on the new stadium is expected to start later this year, subject to planning consent, and is expected to take three years. A final construction timeline will be shared during the PCSA period.
Everton Chief Executive Professor Denise Barrett-Baxendale said: “Appointing Laing O’Rourke is another important step towards delivering a new world-class waterfront stadium for Everton.
“We are partnering with an organization who bring a wealth of experience and a track-record of quality, sustainability and global delivery, including major investment projects right here in Liverpool.
“There is still a lot of work to do on this project. Working alongside colleagues at Laing O’Rourke we will develop our construction program, while at the same time continuing to engage with our supporters on a number of matters as we await our planning application to be determined by Liverpool City Council.”
Everton’s plans for the new stadium, which will sit within Peel L&P’s Liverpool Waters site, would have a transformational impact on North Liverpool, kick-starting the regeneration of the northern docklands, contributing a £1bn boost to the city region’s economy, creating up to 15,000 jobs and attracting 1.4 million visitors to the city each year.
Laing O’Rourke director, Paul McNerney said: “We are delighted that Everton has chosen our team to work alongside the Club and local community to deliver The People’s Project. We recognize the transformative impact the project will bring to the Club, to the city and to the many people who will be part of this exciting journey.
“Laing O’Rourke has a long track record of delivering sports stadia, utilizing our unique engineering and manufacturing capabilities, all of which will now underpin this scheme.”
