Everton face £150m price hike on new stadium, while Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly takes a step back from the club

The price of Everton's new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock is set to rise by up to £150million due to increased construction costs directly attributable to the war in Ukraine.

Mail Sport revealed earlier this year that the so-called fixed-price contract Everton had agreed with builders Laing O'Rourke contained variable rates with a floor and ceiling price for completing the project, a significant variable which has already cost the club £100m.

The final price will not be known until the build is completed in a year's time, but Everton are budgeting for a worst-case scenario of another £50m hit, taking the cost of the stadium beyond £700m and 20 per cent above the floor price agreed with Laing.

The huge increase is largely down to the increased cost of materials, logistics and higher interest rates.

Todd Boehly's long absences from Chelsea this season have been noted by players and staff.

The co-owner attended last weekend's Premier League win over Brighton at Stamford Bridge, but was not at Wednesday's defeat by Manchester United and has only been at a handful of home games all season.

Sources close to Boehly insist that he always intended to step back to focus on other business interests, after acting as de facto sporting director for much of last season, and that his enthusiasm for Chelsea is undimmed.

In his absence co-owner Behdad Eghbali, who manages the 60 per cent stake in the club owned by Clearlake Capital, has taken an increasingly hands-on role.

Sky Sports are expected to win the near-live Premier League rights for all 380 games in the next stage of the auction process, having agreed to pay £5.1billion for 215 live matches each season between 2025 and 2029 earlier this week.

The live deal gives Sky the right to show