It may have been a dark, freezing Monday evening on the banks of the Mersey, but Evertonians hope this day signifies the start of a bright new future.
Everton’s magnificent new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock opened its doors for the first time to 10,000 lucky Toffees fans successful in a ballot for an under-18s friendly against Wigan.
Four years in the making and at an estimated cost of more than £750m, the club will move in fully over the summer in time for the start of the 2025-26 season.
The first thing that strikes you on approach to the stadium along Liverpool’s dock road is its sheer size. It is absolutely enormous.
Goodison Park, flanked on three sides by rows of Victorian terraced housing, can sneak up on you. But there is no missing this place. A gigantic, futuristic mesh of steel and red brick, combining the old and the new.
The Bramley Moore pub, directly opposite, is doing a roaring trade, with Elton John’s ‘I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues’ belting out over the speakers. The sense of anticipation and excitement is palpable.
“It’s out of this world,” said Andy, a Goodison season-ticket holder who has signed up for Bramley-Moore next season.
“We could not have wished for a better stadium. Everyone is excited, old and young.
“It will be a wrench to leave Goodison but when you see this, it is going to be the envy of everyone.”
It is hard to imagine this was a working dock just three and a half years ago. It was filled in over the space of three months, with a dredger making 130 round-trips 20 miles into the Irish Sea to collect 480,000 cubic metres of sand, pumped in to form a solid base for the stadium foundations.
The 52,888-capacity ground will be the seventh-biggest in the Premier League and has been selected to host matches at Euro 2028. It is hoped the project will contribute an estimated £1.3bn to the local economy.
There are nods to the past everywhere. The old railroad tracks and Grade II-listed Victorian hydraulic tower have been painstakingly restored. The Latticework design by renowned Scottish architect Archibald Leitch, still present on two of the four stands at Goodison Park, is incorporated into the brickwork.
Just one stand is open for tonight’s game – the steep-tiered South Stand that will eventually house 14,000 people. Inside there is row upon row of food and drinks stands. You can find your standard football fare – the three flavours of pies are selling well. But also on the menu is Korean sticky chicken and salt and pepper chicken subs.
Also selling well is the ‘The Toffees doughnut’, evident by the number of people wandering round with the remnants of royal blue icing on their lips.
A huge glass window runs the entire length of the stand offering a spectacular view of the Liverpool sun fading behind the skyline.
“You don’t get that view at Anfield,” says a smiling yellow-jacketed steward. Everyone here is excited.
There is a vivid sense of anticipation and childlike wonder as fans walk up the steps to get the first glimpse of their team’s new home.
“It is a spine-tingling moment” said Tom, who along with his son Elliott, are signed up season-ticket holders for next season. “What a ground Goodison was – but it is time to move.”
The first thing you notice is the steep gradient of the stand – it is as steep as regulations allow, to keep the fans as close to the pitch as possible.
There are two huge TV screens at each end of the ground, accompanied by an incredibly loud PA system – you could probably hear it across the Mersey on the Wirral.
The players enter the field to the theme from 1960s TV show Z-Cars – just as they have at Goodison for more than 50 years. Another nod to the past wrapped in futuristic clothing.
Wigan’s Harrison Rimmer – a boyhood Liverpool fan no less – made himself a quiz question for years to come by scoring the first goal at the new stadium. He made the most of the occasion by holding up six fingers, referring to Liverpool’s six Champions League titles.
Cole Simms made it 2-0 to the Young Latics a few minutes later, while Everton replied late on with a penalty from 16-year-old Ray Robert.
But tonight was not about the result, it was about the occasion – one the fans present will never forget.
“It is breathtaking,” said Dave, another Goodison season-ticket holder who will be heading to Bramley-Moore next year.
“Goodison has been our spiritual home but you cannot fault this. It brings us right up to date with the best.”
