Everton’s stunning Hill Dickinson stadium on Liverpool’s waterfront is a symbol of football’s importance to the city's economy – but the game's impact goes way beyond stadiums and matchday experiences.
This year’s Heseltine Institute Annual Lecture at the University of Liverpool was on “Football and the city”, focusing on Liverpool’s Premier League clubs – Everton and Liverpool – as “economic, cultural and social anchors”.
Panelists, including former Liverpool FC chief executive Rick Parry, city council development chief Nuala Gallagher and football finance expert Kieran Maguire, debated what football meant to the city, and what it could do to boost regeneration and improve the lives of residents.
To coincide with the event, from Dr Tom Arnold on the clubs’ impact in the city and wider region. It says “Their contribution to the regional economy is significant, supporting thousands of jobs and generating billions in economic value”.
It highlights the impact of stadium developments – not just Everton’s new home on the waterfront, but also Liverpool FC’s huge investments at Anfield in recent years. And it says: “Realising the full potential of football-driven economic development requires continued collaboration between football clubs and public authorities.”
One issue that came up at the debate was the balance between the needs of global fans and those of local people and residents.
Mr Parry, now chairman of the English Football League, said that when he was at Liverpool and discussing stadium redevelopment, the club came up with ideas for "iconic" attractions, maybe even in partnership with Disney.
But, he said: “When we talked to the local community, they wanted a post office”.
Everton in the Community and the Liverpool FC Foundation, the clubs’ official charities, both work hard across the city to tackle social inequality and improve people’s lives.
The Heseltine Institute report says: “Liverpool FC’s most recent accounts report an estimated social value of £90m delivered by its official charity the LFC Foundation, a return of £13.70 for every £1 spent.” Meanwhile EITC, which runs more than 60 projects to tackle poor physical and mental health and to improve educational and employment outcomes, generated £29.86 of social value for every £1 invested.
Chief executive of Everton In The Community, Sue Gregory, said that as well as adding social value, organisations like hers can help connect the “amazing businesses” coming into the city with the community around the club.
LFC Foundation trustee Dr Simon Bowers is a GP in Liverpool, a former chair of NHS Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group, and now chief medical officer at Blinx Healthcare. He talked about how clubs can play a unique role in trying to improve health and life outcomes in the communities they serve by sharing messages about healthy lifestyles. Even if people might not listen to doctors, teachers, or the police, he said: “Nothing comes close to our coaches, or Everton’s coaches, walking into a classroom”.
Nuala Gallagher, corporate director for city development at Liverpool council, said Everton’s decision to build a stadium on the waterfront was “an incredible move”, and was helping attract investment there. As well as opening up the area to investors, it also opens up an area of former dockland to residents who have not been able to visit it for decades.
Mr Parry also touched on the future of football as a global sport, saying that the EFL and its clubs were taking a fresh look at how they could connect football and music to promote English football globally. The details were “a bit secret”, he told host Mairead Smyth, but he added “at its most simplistic, every rock star is a frustrated footballer, and every footballer consumes music.”
But even though linear TV watching is declining in favour of streaming and social media, especially amongst the young, Mr Parry believes football still has a unique proposition.
He said: “The beauty of football is that it’s the great unscripted drama. And you have to watch it live.”
