Everton’s brand new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock hosted its first event on Monday night as a selection of supporters got a glimpse into the Toffees’ bright new future.
The Merseyside club will wave goodbye to Goodison Park at the end of this season as they prepare to move into the £800million ground, which is located on the docks by the River Mersey in Liverpool.
A crowd of 10,000, including new owners The Friedkin Group, watched Everton’s Under-18s take on their Wigan counterparts in a friendly, which is the first of three test events.
First @EvertonStadium test event ✅
Thank you to everyone who helped make tonight happen. Two more to go! 🔜 pic.twitter.com/UhaFy1oQXg
— Everton (@Everton) February 17, 2025
It took just 12 minutes for Harrison Rimmer to open the scoring, before the Wigan youngster milked his moment in front of Everton’s fans by holding up six fingers in reference to the number of rivals Liverpool’s Champions League wins.
Cole Simms doubled the visitors’ lead shortly after and that proved decisive, despite Ray Roberts’ late penalty but that did not stop a positive atmosphere from supporters who were delighted to see their new stadium for the first time.
“The stadium is superb. The views are amazing. It’s everything you want, as a fan. Everton are back,” Steve Davis, a season ticket holder since 1974, told Sky Sports.
Everton’s move from Goodison Park, their home since 1892, has been a long time coming, with initial discussions over a new stadium starting in the early 1990s.
Plans to build a stadium by the River Mersey in 2003 were abandoned before the government rejected controversial plans to construct a 50,000-seat stadium in Kirkby in 2009.
Fans’ first impressions of Everton Stadium. 🤩🏟 pic.twitter.com/90KeYjArAQ
— Everton Stadium (@EvertonStadium) February 17, 2025
A few years later a site in Walton Hall Park was identified but the idea was shelved after opposition in 2016.
But work on the current site finally began in the summer of 2021 and the build was completed in December.
Providing Everton avoid relegation this season, which now appears likely, Everton’s 52,888 stadium will become to seventh biggest in the Premier League.
