Everton’s grand design is progress but it’ll be sad to say goodbye to Goodison
IF you know your history, Goodison Park was the first purpose-built football stadium in England, constructed in 1892.
Which is great. The trouble is it has not changed that much since.
There is still wood inside Goodison Park.
When they talk about restricted views at the ground, they actually mean blocked views.
Football clubs like to talk about the “matchday experience”. It is strictly retro in the blue part of L4.
But there is nothing retro about the plans for a new stadium at BramleyMoore Dock, revealed in all their modern architectural glory last week.
The proposed stadium – apparently giving a nod to Liverpool’s maritime history – looks stunning, if that sort of thing floats your boat.
But it is what it is. Another new arena, with its fan plazas, its multi-purposes, its naming rights. Is it an exciting new chapter in Everton’s rich existence? Of course, it is. Have supporters got cause to be excited about the possibility of a brave new era? Of course, they have.
It looks like Everton is finally being dragged into the 21st-century world of the elite football club, a world of revenue streams and pop concerts.
And the new design, which the club hopes to have up and running in 2023, features the must-have for any new footballing arena worth its salt – a “wall”.
That is a 13,000-seat steeply pitched home end, it seems.
But, for all their walls and building gimmicks, what makes a stadium great is the football and its fans.
Do I remember the visually alluring Green Point Stadium in Cape Town as a great stadium?
No. Because the game I saw there was a stinker played out in a semi-poisonous atmosphere.
England 0 Algeria 0, Wayne Rooney giving the fans pelters. Being able to pay contactless for a pint injected through the bottom of a beaker and a portion of halloumi fries does not make a great stadium.
What makes a great stadium is it being shaken to its foundations when Duncan Ferguson heads a winner against Manchester United under lights.
What makes a great stadium is the natural fervour that swept Goodison Park when Hungary dismantled Brazil in the 1966 World Cup.
What makes a great stadium is people.
When David Moyes was manager of Everton, he understood the need to move on, but would have favoured the redevelopment of Goodison.
And it is possible to redevelop old stadiums and maintain the same feeling, the same atmosphere within the ground.
There is proof of that across the park from Goodison.
You can be certain that sort of option was thoroughly explored by the Everton board, but the move to the disused docks has long been considered the best option for the club and for the city.
And, not only does the proposed new stadium look suitably impressive, the plans for Everton’s current home look encouraging too. So, all in all, you have to call it progress.
But of all the grounds deserted – Highbury, Upton Park, Maine Road – Goodison feels like the grandest.
And when the grand old team finally ups sticks, it will feel like the end of an era – not just for Everton, but for the English game.