Groundbreaking day for Everton's new riverside stadium in Liverpool

LONDON -- A traditional groundbreaking ceremony was held in Liverpool to mark the moment building work started on Everton's new stadium, the English Premier League club announced Tuesday.

Club officials gathered at the Bramley-Moore Dock site in the northern end of the city to watch the start of construction work.

The decision to build the 52,888 stadium stadium, costing $693 million, on a derelict dockland site in the city was cited as one of the reasons UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, at its meeting in China last month, stripped Liverpool of its World Heritage Status.

The club said the new stadium project is recognised as the largest single-site private sector development in Britain contributing an estimated $1.8 billion to the British economy, creating more than 15,000 jobs.

Everton FC said history was made as an excavator made first incision into quayside at Bramley-Moore Dock to kickstart the project into reality.

The start of building work came just 15 days after Everton FC took possession of the showpiece site which is expected to transform the economic fortunes of northern Liverpool.

Around 12,000 construction workers will be engaged on the project during an estimated three-year build.

"This is a momentous day. One that we have all been waiting for," said Everton chairman Bill Kenwright.

"In a few years' time we will be bidding the fondest farewell imaginable to our cherished home at Goodison Park. That sad day will be made easier because we know we are going to an astonishing new stadium that will bring our fans and their children - and their children's children - the kind of joy throughout the next century."

Everton CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale believed the breaking ground was a significant milestone for this project as well as the football club and the city region. "It is a tangible symbol of Everton's future and a clear signal of our club's ambitions."

"Today's ceremony delivers an exciting new future for our football club, invests in our local and national economy and supports our community as our region builds back better following the impacts of the global pandemic, while also ensuring the city's oldest professional football club remains in our spiritual home of North Liverpool," said Barrett-Baxendale.