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Liverpool hope that work on a new £120m stadium at Stanley Park could start within months after they formally rejected a Government-backed proposal for a groundshare with Everton. The biggest remaining obstacle is the funding for the new stadium for which the building costs have spiralled from about £80m to £120m in the last twelve months. The Northwest Development Agency had indicated that it could withhhold a £40m grant if Liverpool did not consider the groundshare option, but the club hope that by considering the proposal seriously they will be judged to have met their obligations. Liverpool may think that a naming rights package on the new stadium would be the best way to bring in the money. One possible candidate is LG, the Korean electronics company, that is about to launch its first 3G phone. It is already a significant sponsor of sport, but has also been linked with Chelsea's shirt sponsorship which changes from Emirates next season. What Everton will do now is less clear. Their move to a site at King's Dock collapsed in 2003 and it may be that refurbishing Goodison Park will seem more attractive than a new stadium given the club's continuing financial problems.
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