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Hill Dickinson Stadium
Football stadium in Liverpool, England From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Hill Dickinson Stadium,[2] known as Bramley Moore or Everton Stadium during construction,[3] is a football stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock in Vauxhall, Liverpool, England. It is the new home ground of Premier League club Everton, replacing Goodison Park.[4]
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Bramley-Moore is a former commercial dock and it is intended that the new stadium will become the heart of a new mixed-use development in the area containing shops, housing, gym and other venues. Upon opening, it became the eighth largest in England, and the eleventh largest in Britain. The stadium will also be a host venue for UEFA Euro 2028 and the 2025 Rugby League Ashes.
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Planning and development
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Proposals
Everton first played at Goodison Park in 1892 and it has been gradually updated since its construction, the most recent major development being the opening of a new stand in August 1994, which has given it an all-seater capacity of more than 39,000, but ultimately is constrained by its methods of construction and its location. In 2007, then-CEO Keith Wyness revealed that the club had spent £500,000 on repairs just to keep the steelwork of the ground up to standard, and there was a serious possibility that within ten years it may not pass safety inspections.[5] The Taylor Report in 1990 required that all stadia in the Football League in Britain become all-seater, which severely curtailed Goodison Park's capacity, which had peaked at more than 78,000, to just over 39,000, and then further to its current capacity of 39,414.[6] This lags behind nearby Anfield, which has expanded to over 61,000.[7]
The possibility of a move to a new stadium was first mentioned around 1996, when then chairman Peter Johnson announced plans to move Everton from Goodison Park to a new 60,000-seater stadium at a different site. By 2001, a site at King's Dock had been identified as the location for a new 55,000-seater stadium, scheduled for completion around 2005, but these plans were abandoned due to funding difficulties.
Everton entered into talks with the Knowsley Council and Tesco in June 2006 over the possibility of building a new 55,000-seat stadium, expandable to over 60,000, in Kirkby.[8] The plan became known as The Kirkby Project. The club took the unusual move of giving its supporters a say in the club's future by holding a ballot on the proposal with the results being in favour of it, 59% to 41%.[9] Opponents of the plan included other local councils concerned by the effect of a large Tesco store being built as part of the development and a group of fans demanding that Everton should remain within the city boundaries of Liverpool.[9] Following a public inquiry into the project,[10] the central government rejected the proposal.[11] Local and regional politicians attempted to put together an amended rescue plan with the Liverpool City Council calling a meeting with Everton F.C. The plan was to assess some suitable sites shortlisted within the city boundary.[12][13] However, the amended plan was also not successful.
Everton enquired into the possibility of co-financing Liverpool's Stanley Park Stadium, a proposed plan for a stadium that was scheduled to open in 2006, but the plan was cancelled in 2012 after new owners favoured the expansion of Anfield.[14] This idea was denied by Liverpool's former co-owner Tom Hicks. There was speculation at the time over a joint stadium project between the two clubs but despite these rumours, Liverpool maintained that a ground-sharing agreement was never on the agenda.[15]
The Liverpool City Council Regeneration and Transport Select Committee meeting on 10 February 2011 featured a proposal to open the Bootle Branch line using "Liverpool Football Club and Everton Football Club as priorities, as economic enablers of the project".[16] This proposal would place both football clubs on a rapid transit Merseyrail line that would circle the city and ease transport access. In September 2014 the club, working with the Liverpool City Council and Liverpool Mutual Homes, outlined initial plans to build a new stadium in Walton Hall Park.[17] However, those plans were later scrapped in May 2016 with the prospect of two new sites being identified for the club.[18] At the Annual General Meeting in January 2017, the chairman, Bill Kenwright, revealed that Bramley-Moore Dock was the preferred site for the new stadium, with a new railway station and a new road being funded by the City Council.[19] This was contingent on setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle with Liverpool Council, who would act as guarantors for the hundreds of millions in commercial loans the club planned to use to finance the construction.[20]
The choice of the Bramley-Moore Dock site was endorsed in a public consultation exercise conducted in 2018,[21] but was met with stern criticism from UNESCO, which later removed Liverpool from its list of World Heritage Sites.[22] Architect Dan Meis has been charged with designing a new stadium for Everton,[23] followed by a second stage of consultation, called The People's Project.[24]
In November 2017, the club agreed to a lease with Peel Holdings lasting 200 years, and in 2018 revealed its plans for a 52,000-seat stadium.[25]
Funding
On 23 March 2017, it was announced that a deal had been agreed between Liverpool City Council, Everton and Peel Holdings to acquire the dock for a new football stadium.[26]
On 31 March 2017, Liverpool City Council voted in favour of creating a Special Purpose Vehicle company. The company was proposed with securing the funds for the stadium. The lenders would acquire a 200-year head-lease of the land from Peel, the landowners, and leasing the stadium to the SPV, which would in turn sub-lease to Everton for 40 years.[27][28]
The current funding model now proposed before Liverpool City Council (revealed at Everton's AGM on 9 January 2018)[29] would be an arrangement that will see the council borrow £280m at ultra-low interest rates from the government, and then pass that loan on to the club at a profit to the city of around £7m a year over 25 years.[30][31] Costs for the new stadium now escalating to an estimated £500m,[32] would mean the club would still require to find the remaining £220m. As of June 2018 the council funding was still not in place, and doubts were raised by Mayor Anderson if this funding model would be agreed.[33]
In July 2019, it was reported that the club had options to fund the development from both the private and public sectors, which could include selling naming rights to a sponsor.[34]
In January 2020, it was announced that Everton have agreed a naming right deal worth £30 million with USM, who already sponsored Everton's training ground, Finch Farm.[35]
The club further announced that it would enlist the help of major international banks JP Morgan and MUFG to help secure finance for the new stadium.[36]
In March 2022, Everton announced they would no longer receive a loan from Liverpool City Council and had acquired alternative funding.[36]
Proposed features
Everton's new stadium is a bowl design with a capacity of 52,769 and constructed of steel and glass, with the existing dock being filled with reclaimed sand from the River Mersey.[37]
Similar to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, there is a 13,000-seater stand which is reportedly inspired by the "Yellow Wall" at the Westfalenstadion, the stadium of Borussia Dortmund.[38]
The stadium will feature an experience named 'ALL', designed to offer a wide choice of social spaces from pubs and bars and high-street style restaurants through to personal and fine-dining experiences.[39]
In June 2025, Everton announced a partnership with ticketing firm Seat Unique. Fans will be able to purchase match-by-match access to 'loge seating', which includes cinema-style chairs and private TV monitors to see replays.[40]
The stadium capacity was reduced to 52,769 after a review on seat configuration before officially opening. Factors such as segregation lines between the home and away section and the compliance and provision for media facilities and camera positions have played a part in the original maximum capacity being reduced by 0.2% (119 seats).
Construction
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Construction by main contractor Laing O'Rourke began in July 2021.[41] By early 2022, non-listed structures had been demolished, heritage assets had been removed and preserved, the dock basin had been repaired and infilled, foundations were laid and the concrete structures of the four corners of the new stadium had been started.[42] The stadium's superstructure was pieced together using Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) techniques, with all steelwork and precast concrete manufactured in advance, off-site, under factory conditions before arriving on site in a pre-determined order and slotted together utilising 3D modelling.[43]
In August 2023, work was temporarily halted after a fatal accident on site;[44] Michael Jones, a lifelong Everton fan from Kirkby, who was working for a subcontractor, suffered severe head injuries and was later declared dead at Aintree University Hospital.[45] In August 2024, a permanent memorial to Jones was unveiled outside the stadium.[46]
The stadium was declared structurally complete after the final concrete terracing panel was installed in February 2024.[47] In March 2024, Alucraft Systems, a subcontractor supplying cladding panels for the stadium's exterior, went into administration[48] owing suppliers £7.7 million.[49]
The completed stadium was officially handed over by the contractor in December 2024.[50]
Loss of Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City UNESCO World Heritage Status
Bramley-Moore Dock was within the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City, UNESCO World Heritage Site and has a number of heritage assets that are at risk or in disrepair, which Everton stated will be repaired and maintained.[51]
Despite this, in 2021, UNESCO recommended that the City lose its status, with the development at Bramley-Moore Dock being one of the reasons, along with the longstanding development of the waterfront and the wider Liverpool Waters project.[52] The heritage body said the stadium "would have a completely unacceptable major adverse impact on the authenticity, integrity and outstanding universal value of the World Heritage Site."[53] The revocation of the world heritage site status was confirmed in July 2021.[54]
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Opening
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Three test events were scheduled in order to gain the necessary safety certificates and licences to host competitive matches.[55] The first event, opened for 10,000 fans on 17 February 2025, saw Everton U18s beating Wigan U18 squad 2–1.[56] Wigan's Harrison Rimmer, in the 12th minute of play, become the first ever player to score a goal at the stadium; Everton's 16-year-old substitute Ray Robert then marked the inaugural goal at the home turf in the 88th minute, as he equalized result by converting a penalty.[56]
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The second event took place on 23 March, a friendly featuring Everton U21s. The game sold out at 25,000 a 1–0 victory over Bolton Wanderers B squad. The game was 65 minutes long due to a mandatory evacuation practice. After the game concerns were raised about public transport availability and traffic congestion before and post-match.[57]
In July, a closed doors friendly was played by Everton vs Port Vale, outside the certification process.[58] The concluding certification test was held at a pre-season friendly against AS Roma, held on 9 August, a weekend before the start of the 2025–26 Premier League season. The match ended in a 0–1 loss for the home team, with visitors Matías Soulé scoring in 70th minute. A sold-out attendance of 50,837 was recorded for the fixture.[1]
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The stadium will host Everton's home Premier League games from the 2025–26 season.
Before completion of the stadium, in April 2023, the stadium was announced as one of ten host venues for the 2028 UEFA European Championships;[59][60] and in March 2025, announced as one of three host venues for the 2025 Rugby League Ashes.[61][62]
References
External links
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