Everton in the saddle of new Everton Stadium

Article posted by Coliseum, January 7^th, 2025

Image: Everton FC

The Premier League team Everton F.C. has formally taken control of the club’s new home at Bramley-Moore Dock in Vauxhall, Liverpool, United Kingdom.

‘Everton Football Club’ stated that the Executive Chairman Marc Watts and the interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Colin Chong joined the Laing O’Rourke (construction company) Project Director Gareth Jacques and other dignitaries for a ceremonial handover of the Everton Stadium which has been run by the contractor during the construction phase of the waterfront development.

The handover comes three-and-a-half-years after the commencement of the project with the build phase completing on schedule.

Everton are to stage the first game at the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium next month in preparation for their move to the Liverpool waterfront.

A series of three test events will take place in 2025 before the Club stages its first competitive fixture at the stadium at the start of the 2025-2026 seasons.

‘Reuters’ stated that the first, a friendly featuring Everton’s U-18 side and open to 10,000 spectators, will be held on February 17^th.

The U-21s will play a match in late March or early April with a capacity of 25,000.

Everton’s statement said, “A third test event will be held later in the current season details of which will be confirmed in due course.”

‘Reuters’ further stated that the restricted capacities for those events will help obtain license and safety certificates to operate at full capacity of 52,888 ahead of its official opening, the club added.

Everton will play 10 more league matches this season at the Goodison Park, their home since 1892, with the last game scheduled for May 18^th against their peer team Southampton F.C.

The Everton Football Club is a professional association football club based in Liverpool, England (UK). The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football.

The Goodison Park is a football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, England (UK) that has been the home of the Premier League club Everton F.C. since 1892. It is two miles (three km) North of the City Centre and has an all-seated capacity of 39,414.

The 52,888-capacity Everton Stadium is a football stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock in Vauxhall, Liverpool, England (UK) that will become the home ground for the Everton F.C. ahead of the 2025-2026 season replacing Goodison Park.

‘Everton Football Club’ further stated that having now taken possession of the site the club will oversee the six-month fit-out phase. That will include the interior design specialists, the tradesmen and women and the audio-visual engineers completing the stadium’s many bars, restaurants and experiences as well as the retail spaces delivering a modern and unique new home for Everton.

The Friedkin Group, whose new ownership of Everton was confirmed recently, has financially supported the stadium development and the club through an initial loan investment in the Summer and with funding during the change of the control process.

Maintained Marc Watts, “I feel privileged to be here to be part of the handover of this magnificent stadium in this stunning, unrivaled location. It is an illustrious moment in the history of Everton and marks a new era for the club on many levels. The stadium will play a key role in supporting our commercial vision for the club – hosting events and activities all-year round – but first and foremost – I have no doubt that it will be a venue that every Evertonian will be proud to call home.”

Commented Colin Chong, “Our thanks go to Laing O’Rourke, their workforce and the extensive supply chain along with the many people who have helped bring our vision to fruition. Everton’s passionate supporters deserve immense praise for investing fully in this journey, right from the initial consultation phases and throughout the three-and-a-half-year build process. Construction has not been without its challenges but we have remained on schedule despite a worldwide pandemic and a war in Ukraine which threatened to affect the delivery of materials and destabilized the financial markets. That is a testament to everyone involved and I am sure I speak for all our staff and supporters by saying we are absolutely delighted to take control of a site which will soon become one of the best football stadiums in world football.”

The club formally took possession of the site on July 26^th, 2021 with construction partners Laing O’Rourke immediately working on putting in place welfare facilities for their 12,000 construction staff.

Having represented Laing O’Rourke on site from the outset, Project Director Gareth Jacques said, “This is a momentous day for my team, for Laing O’Rourke, for our supply chain, all the design consultants, and everyone involved with the project. We’ve spent 178 weeks on-site and a year-and-half before that in pre-construction and planning. All those people, everyone from Everton and all the fans who have been ardently watching the progress, have all been a big part of this, so to deliver it, as we have, on time, are phenomenal.”

The Everton Stadium, recognized as the largest single-site private sector development in the United Kingdom, will contribute an estimated £1.3bn to the UK economy and attract 1.4m visitors to the City of Liverpool annually.

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