England: Birmingham defeats Liverpool for Commonwealth Games

source: StadiumDB.com; author: michał

England: Birmingham defeats Liverpool for Commonwealth Games The West Midlands city will be the official candidate of England to host 2022 Commonwealth Games, should a bid be filed. Liverpool's campaign failed. What does that mean for Everton's new stadium, which was at its heart?

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As we've already informed you, two English cities began bidding for the 2022 Commonwealth Games after previously selected host Durban was stripped of its hosting rights. In Birmingham the main stadium would be the revamped Alexander Stadium, for Liverpool it would have been Everton's new home at Bramley-Moore Dock.

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

Yesterday the Deparment for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport decided to support Birmingham over Liverpool to become the official English bidder. That doesn't mean a bid will be filed, though, as it requires further analysis. Primarily about the cost of hosting such event.

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

It's currently believed that the tournament in Birmingham would require £500m-£680 million, with 75% coming from the Treasury and 25% needing to come from Birmingham City Council. Since it would be by far the largest sporting project in England since the London Olympics, fears of cost overruns like those from 2012 preparations are well alive.

For now the strongest contender for the 2022 event is Kuala Lumpur, where almost all of the infrastructure is already in place, ready to hold the Commonwealth Games.

What changes for Everton?

While the Toffees and architect Dan Meis never went into detail about how their football stadium would accommodate a running track, Bramley-Moore Dock was at the heart of Liverpool's bid. It's thus no wonder that yesterday's decision caused some concern among Everton supporters, especially given the fact that the Premier League team could have received significant taxpayer funding for their project.

The club and the city were working together on Bramley-Moore redevelopment before Liverpool decided to bid for the 2022 games and it's no surprise that mayor Joe Anderson immediately dismissed any fears of potential setbacks for the project.

He said: “This doesn’t change a thing regarding the Bramley Moore stadium. We will still be working with Everton Football Club to deliver on that. We are still very confident that we will reach an agreement with the club and we will work with them now to accelerate that process.”

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