Liverpool and Everton’s rivalry will soon escalate behind the scenes due to one key financial battleground.
The gap between the two clubs has widened in recent years, both in terms of performances off the pitch and their financial health.
Everton will hope that the arrival at Dan Friedkin, who has signed a deal to conduct exclusive takeover talks with current owner Farhad Moshiri, will help the club in the latter category.
The Toffees have been beset by Profit and Sustainability issues in recent years following season after season of monumental losses, compounded by the impact of the pandemic.
Liverpool’s owners John Henry and Fenway Sports Group on the other hand are considered among the best in Europe – from a financial point of view, at the very least.
One area in which they have made strides in recent years is commercial revenue from non-football events at Anfield.
But their advantage over Everton in this department could be eliminated, especially in light of recent developments on Merseyside.
Everton and Liverpool to battle over lucrative commercial events
Liverpool’s £190m redevelopment at Anfield has seen the Main Stand and Anfield Road Stands upgraded, making the stadium far more attractive for concerts and other non-football events.
Last week, the iconic venue hosted the world’s biggest artist in Taylor Swift for three sold-out shows.
Those gigs alone are believed to have been worth £10m to Liverpool, which will help them break their commercial income record once again when they release their 2023-24.
What’s more, a report from Hellotickets estimates that the wider economic impact will have been worth £49m to the city.
But with Everton in the final stages of building a 52,888-seater waterfront arena that has been purpose-built for both football and other events, Liverpool will soon no longer have a monopoly in this area.
Events of this nature can be enormously lucrative. And with two stadium venues to choose from in the city of Liverpool, this will present a dilemma for concert and sports event organisers.
This will surely create another element to the already deep-rooted rivalry in the clubs’ respective corridors of power.
Crucially, Everton now appear to have turned a corner with their cash flow situation, which encompasses funding for the project at Bramley Moore Dock.
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Dan Friedkin provides Bramley Moore Dock boost
A Companies House filing last week appears to have confirmed that Friedkin has taken over a loan to the club from MSP Sports Capital.
Thar cash is intended to be directed to the stadium project, which has a variety of funding sources.
Ahead of the general election on 4th July, Everton will also hope that a Labour government could create an environment wherein more public funds might be available for Bramley Moore Dock.
Labour leader Sir Kier Starmer already appears receptive to this kind of project, having been a guest of Man United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe at Old Trafford recently, where a stadium rebuild project is planned.