Everton unveil plans for £500m new stadium in Liverpool docklands area
Everton have revealed the proposed designs for their new £500m stadium to be built on semi-derelict dockland in north Liverpool, claiming the brick, steel and glass structure will deliver a £1bn boost to the city’s economy.
Dramatic images of the proposed development were unveiled at a fan event at the Titanic Hotel, itself a former warehouse just yards from the Bramley-Moore dock site where Everton intend to build their new home. Following a period of public consultation a planning application is expected to be submitted before the end of this year, and assuming approval is granted in 2020 a three-year build is envisaged, meaning it would be 2023-24 at the earliest before Everton move out of Goodison Park.
The old stadium will be demolished once the Bramley-Moore project is up and running, though rather than sell the Goodison site to property developers Everton intend to use it as public space and for a range of community initiatives the club already sponsors, including a permanent memorial to the ground which has seen so much in its 127 years.
One of the most striking features of the new 52,000-capacity stadium, apart from an unmistakable presence on the waterfront skyline, will be a steep bank of seats behind one of the goals. Unashamedly modelling itself on Borussia Dortmund’s Yellow Wall, Everton hope the 13,000-seat South Stand will take off in public imagination as the Blue Wave.
As with seating in other parts of the ground, the stand will feature rail seats, which can easily be converted to safe-standing areas should legislation change to allow it in the future.
There will be a tunnel club at the new stadium similar to the one at Manchester City, while the American idea of loge seating will be incorporated as part of the upper level of hospitality packages. The best seats in the house will be padded armchairs complete with dedicated television monitors.
All four stands will be of equal height but each will be distinctive, the club say, and steeply pitched to bring supporters as close to the action as regulations permit. The brief given to the architect Dan Meis was to try to capture the intensity and intimacy of Goodison Park by keeping the distance between stands and pitch as short as possible.
Everton are confident their present design will ensure spectators feel almost on top of the action, more so than at any other Premier League stadium, and trust something of a bearpit atmosphere will result.
Some of the famous Archibald Leitch lattice-work from Goodison Park will be referenced in the brick base of the new stadium, which at ground level at least has been designed to fit in with its immediate maritime surroundings. At roof level the concept is a little more futuristic, with the use of glass and steel intended to create a modern landmark which will be suitable for concerts and events as well as football matches.
Everton’s chief executive officer, Professor Denise Barrett-Baxendale, described the proposed development as a “game changer” for the club and the city. “This is an incredibly important milestone for both,” she said. “It is first and foremost a stadium for football, for our passionate fans and for our players, a stadium that gives Everton a platform for growth both commercially and socially. But it is also a stadium for the entire city and a development that will deliver transformative benefits in terms of regeneration for the whole region.”