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Everton have the money to build a new stadium, Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson announced.

Mayor Anderson has already said he expects the Blues to have a new stadium within three years.

In an interview with the ECHO he elaborated on why he thinks that is realistic, and finances are a key part.

Money for a new stadium has always proved one of the biggest sticking points.

In 2003 the club was forced to abandon the Kings Dock scheme because it could not find £30m to seal the deal.

And the Destination Kirkby scheme, scuppered by inspectors in 2009, because of the size of the accompanying retail development, that effectively would have cross-subsidised the cost of the build.

But Mayor Anderson said it was a different situation now.

After abandoning plans to build on Walton Hall Park, this week, the club is now looking at the council-owned Stonebridge Cross in off the East Lancs Road and in north Liverpool dockland – reviving fond hopes of a stadium on the banks for the Mersey.

Mayor Anderson said: “This is why I am so confident about the period of time – because while it’s really up to the club, the finance is going to be there and met by the club.

“If it were a dockland site that’s not owned by us, so they would have to purchase that. If they do something with us then what they put in, in terms of a stadium, will help create leisure and jobs around the area so we are prepared to do a deal with them that brings the scheme to fruition.

“I am restrained in talking openly about this while they are still talking to (other) landowners. But if they go for a council-owned site we can put in leisure to create jobs.

“We can’t do retail because that would be competition with other parts of the city region, but we could certainly do leisure and things that support the stadium, restaurants and different things.”

He said this was a key difference between the proposal now under consideration and previous schemes such as Walton Hall Park and before that in Kirkby, which had been based on wider regeneration projects partly funded through major retail and housing schemes.

Mayor Anderson said: “The difference is that the club don’t need subsidy in that way to help them.”

In March Farhad Moshiri, who has a net worth of £1.3bn , became the biggest shareholder of the club.

The Iranian businessman has previously said he is looking at the options.

Mayor Anderson said he had met Mr Moshiri who took 49.9% of the club’s shares in February, and is confident he will play a positive role in Everton’s future, but said he could not comment further.

The Mayor added: “All the complexity from the past schemes has now been removed because I had said if we were going to give up green space [at Walton Hall Park] I would want to see a massive return on that for the city with jobs, retail, housing, a district centre.

“Now that hasn’t happened they have only got to deliver the stadium, and with them having the money to deliver the stadium they can deliver on that and still deliver on players, so it’s a different ball game.

“And don’t forget the designs for stadiums are pretty easy to pick up. And the bottom line is the site won’t won’t be called in, less planning restraints and things like that. One site is in our ownership so it’s not complicated. So being able to deliver it pretty quickly is not pie in the sky.

“We’ll still charge them for the site, we’re not going to give it up – we will want a return in terms of jobs and what have you. We’re not a benevolent organisation, but we do this all the time – give land to companies where we get a return in terms of jobs and growth.”