New Everton stadium: Design, opening date, latest developments and more
Everton will start playing in their new stadium in 2025.
Everton’s new stadium on Bramley-Moore Dock is set to open for the 2025/26 season.
Plans for the stadium have been in motion for several years but there have
been a series of setbacks and hurdles as it heads closer to its launch date.
GIVEMESPORT now reveals everything you need to know about Everton’s new
stadium and the latest developments surrounding it.
Everton plan to move into their new stadium on Bramley-Moore Dock for the start of the 2025/26 season. Plans to
build the new ground were first set in motion in 2017 and everything is now on
schedule for completion, with the ground expected to open in 2025.
Talks of moving to a new stadium began as early as 1996, but with several plans
suggested and eventually scrapped during the 2000s, it was the arrival of
Iranian billionaire Farhad Moshiri as owner in 2016 that set the wheels in motion. Within a year, the Bramley-
Moore Dock had been identified as the perfect location for the new stadium and the process continued from there.
Construction first broke ground in August 2021 and is estimated to have
cost around £500m in total. This article contains everything you need to know about Everton’s new stadium.
Everton’s stadium will be a bowl stadium constructed out of brick, steel
and glass that straddles the River Mersey. This design was intended to take
inspiration from the maritime buildings in the surrounding dock area. The brick base of the stadium incorporates a
pattern that honours Goodison Park architect Archibald Leitch’s iconic cross
latticework which adorns the Bullens Road stand of the ground.
The stadium also boasts a dynamic roof structure made of steel and glass, giving
it a modern appearance. Architect Dan Meis has stressed throughout the project how vital it is that supporters feel as
close to the action as possible in the new ground. As such, the stands have been built steeply, giving the stadium as
intimate a feel as possible. The South Stand has been designed to be particularly steep and will contain
13,000 seats as well as safe standing areas, in a nod to Borussia Dortmund’s iconic ‘Yellow Wall’ at Signal Iduna Park.
The Fan Plaza will be situated to the east of the stadium and aims to be as large as
Liverpool’s Pier Head and will be the focus of pre-match and post-match activities and entertainment. The north
and south orientation of the stadium will be optimal for crowd circulation on matchdays.
Opening date The club officially confirmed in December 2023 that they would be officially moving into the new
ground at the start of the 2025/26 season, despite the fact the stadium is scheduled to be completed in the final weeks of
2024. This decision was based on commercial and logistical reasons as well as a survey sent out to all
supporters, in which almost 10,000 supporters took part. The general feeling was that one full final season at
Goodison Park would be the preferred choice.
The ground will be opened in 2025 and between the completion of construction
and the beginning of the 2025/26 campaign, test events will be held at the new stadium to obtain a safety
certificate, as well as allow Evertonians to adjust to their new home. Until then, the priority for Sean Dyche’s side on the
pitch will be ensuring Everton are still a Premier League team by the time they
are playing their first competitive fixture in the new stadium.
Interim CEO Colin Chong confirmed in an official statement in December 2023 that the stadium project is still very
much on track, despite all the off-the-field turmoil the club have undergone in the last few years. Owner Farhad
Moshiri confirmed in September 2023 that he was selling his 94.1% stake in the
club to American Investment firm 777 partners, pending clearance of the
Premier League’s ‘fit and proper’ test. In his statement, the Iranian confirmed that the club would need further
investment to be able to continue financing the stadium build.
Interim CEO Colin Chong confirmed in an official statement in December 2023
that the stadium project is still very much on track, despite all the off-the-field turmoil the club have undergone in
the last few years. Owner Farhad Moshiri confirmed in September 2023 that he was selling his 94.1% stake in the
club to American Investment firm 777 partners, pending clearance of the Premier League’s ‘fit and proper’ test. In
his statement, the Iranian confirmed that the club would need further
investment to be able to continue financing the stadium build.
Latest developments
Interim CEO Colin Chong confirmed in an official statement in December 2023
that the stadium project is still very much on track, despite all the off-the-
field turmoil the club have undergone in the last few years. Owner Farhad Moshiri confirmed in September 2023
that he was selling his 94.1% stake in the club to American Investment firm 777 partners, pending clearance of the Premier League’s ‘fit and proper’ test. In
his statement, the Iranian confirmed that the club would need further
investment to be able to continue financing the stadium build.
As of February 2024, 777 have provided over £160m to aid with several things, including construction costs on the new
stadium. They have received the green light from the Financial Conduct Authority, but still await the Premier
League’s decision on their proposed takeover bid, with reports that they’re
growing frustrated with how long the league have stalled on their decision.
The stadium construction project continues to progress despite the upheaval within the Everton hierarchy.
As of February 2024, the ground is beginning to fill with seats and the structural work within the stadium bowl
has now been completed while the first terracing unit on the Western Terrace has now been installed. As the project
heads into its final 12 months, Project Director Gareth Jacques said he is keen to ‘finish it in style.’
In February 2024, chief commercial and communications officer Richard Kenyon explained that the club have been
making “good progress” over a naming partner for the stadium – the club had initially secured a £30m deal with USM
holdings for having first refusal on it, but Alisher Usmanov’s involvement in it and the subsequent repercussions
surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine saw those talks break down. Now, Kenyon has said (via Liverpool
World): “We are continuing to make good progress in respect of stadium naming rights as we look to secure a
suitable partner to benefit from this unique opportunity. This has been an extensive global process, one which is
focused on finding the right long-term naming partner for our new home.”
Given how lucrative these deals usually are every year to some of the biggest clubs, it’s no surprise the Toffees have
been taking their time and doing their due diligence on getting the absolute best deal for the club going forward.
Naming agreements can often span several years, so taking that extra time to secure a financially stable source of income appears a sensible approach to take.
Goodison legacyÂ
A crucial bit of information for all Evertonians, once the ball got rolling, was what would become of Goodison
Park once they moved out. The club quickly addressed this question with the
launch of the People’s Project, which aimed to attain fan feedback regarding both the move to the new stadium and
the legacy Goodison Park would leave behind.
In the summer of 2019, a survey was sent out to Evertonians and revealed the
club’s proposals as part of the Goodison Legacy Project. The club reiterated that they would be keeping control of the site
on which Goodison currently sits and planned to transform it into a mixed-use development.
Keen to build on the already stellar work done by Everton in the Community, these proposals include a commitment
to build more housing, to host up to 173 residential properties, a care home, office space and commercial space.
There are also plans for a multi-purpose health centre, a youth enterprise zone
and sites for financial and professional services, as well as restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments and takeaways.
It is hoped that the developments will lead to the creation of up to 15,000 new jobs, attract over a million visitors each
year and generate approximately £237m in societal value.
The already-existing entrance gates on the south-west of the site are intended to
remain intact, as well as the commemorative and memorial plaques
on the boundary walls on either side and the statue of Everton’s legendary all-time
greatest goalscorer, Dixie Dean. There are also plans for a green space where
further tributes to the football club’s achievements at the famous old ground would be built.
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