Everton men's team have now officially said goodbye to Goodison Park and are now looking forward to playing their first Premier League match at the Hill Dickson Stadium on Bramley-Moore Dock in August 2025.
The new stadium, which has a capacity of just over 52,000, is seen as a big upgrade on Goodison Park in terms of facilities, size and fan experience, but that doesn't mean Everton fans won't miss visiting the Old Lady on Stanley Park.
However, a new stadium could give the club a new lease of life after a number of years battling against relegation. Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium is arguably the best in the country and has given the club the platform they needed to go and end their long trophy drought. Could the same happen in the coming years on Merseyside?
Goodison Park history
Goodison Park opened its doors in 1892 and cost £3,000 to construct, immediately capturing the heart and minds of the locals. Built specifically for Everton Football Club, the Goodison was the first purpose-built football stadium in the country but north of the border Rangers had kicked things off when they opened Ibrox in 1887.
Just two years after opening, Goodison Park played host to the FA Cup final between Notts County and Bolton in which 37,000 spectators made their way through the turnstiles.
By 1910, further work on Goodison Park meant that 69,000 fans packed the stadium watch the FA Cup final replay in which Newcastle locked horns with Barnsley. Following the war, Goodison enjoyed its highest-ever attendance, 78,299, in a game that saw the Toffees take on arch-rivals Liverpool.
Sadly, such huge attendances would become a thing of the past following the 1990 Taylor Report which required all top division stadiums to become all-seated, vastly limiting the number of spectators you could fit into the ground.
Goodison Park – an international stadium
Since opening its doors, Goodison Park has gone on to capture some amazing memories, and not just for Everton fans. In 1966, Goodison was chosen as one of the grounds to host the World Cup, and during the group stage, Portugal, Brazil, Bulgaria, and Hungary all played games at the stadium.
Portugal's Eusebio claimed the Golden Boot trophy during that tournament, scoring 6 of his 9 goals at Goodison Park, and would later describe the ground as “the best stadium in my life”. Goodison Park also hosted the World Cup semi-final between West Germany and the Soviet Union, and we all know who won that game and how the final played out against England.
Goodison Park has been used as the home of the England national team nine times over the years, first in 1895 against Scotland and most recently in 1973 against Northern Ireland, with the Three Lions avoiding defeat on each of those occasions. The last senior international football to be played at Goodison Park was back in 1995 when Brazil beat Japan 3-0 in the Umbro Cup.
Non-football events at Goodison Park
Goodison Park has been used to host Rugby League matches, particularly the Kangaroo tour of Great Britain. In 1908 Northern Union XIII lost 10-9 to Australia in front of a crowd of 6,000, the following year England won 14-7 against Australia with just 4,500 in attendance, 1911 once again saw Northen League XIII lost but this time against Australasia and in 1921 Lancashire were thrashed 29-6 by the Australasians in front of 17,000.
In 2016 Goodison Park hosted the WBC Cruiserweight title bout which saw lifelong Evertonian Tony Bellew beat Llunga Makabu. Goodison was also used a year earlier to film the fictional boxing fight for the 2015 film Creed, which Tony Bellew was also involved in.
During WWII Goodison Park was commandeered by the military for use of the Balloon Barrage section and during that time a baseball game was played which earned money for the British Red Cross and St. John's Ambulance, which was enjoyed by an audience of 8,000.
Goodison Park atmosphere
Modern-day stadiums such as the Emirates and the Etihad have been accused of failing to recreate the atmosphere captured at their predecessors Highbury and Main Road, and when Goodison Park closes its doors another atmospheric stadium will be lost.
Fans create the atmosphere but they need the right tools in order to do so, whether that be the right acoustics formed by the stadium, their team's performance on the pitch, or the music that is played when their beloved team steps onto the field, perhaps a mixture of all three.
When Z-Cars plays in Goodison Park it signals the arrival of the teams onto the pitch, standing all hairs on end and evoking a roar and applause from the home faithful like nothing you have heard before. Night matches are often said to be one of the best times to experience Goodison Park, with many describing the physical movement you can feel in the stadium when the home side score and the fans celebrate.
No atmosphere compares to the Merseyside Derby when it comes to games at Goodison, closely followed by matches against Manchester United and European night games.
A reprieve for the Old Lady
Originally, Goodison Park was going to be demolished after the club played their final match there, but a last-minute u-turn from the club's owners means that it will now stay as it is. From the 2025/26 season, the club's women's team will make the stadium their own, meaning a new generation of Everton fans will get to sample some Goodison magic.
Looking forward to Bramley-Moore Dock
While Goodison Park will never be forgotten, it's time for the club and its supporters to look forward to the dawn of a new era at Bramley-Moore Dock. The new stadium is now complete, with thousands of supporters having since had the opportunity to visit the new venue during two test events in February and March 2025.
The part of the ground that Evertonians have been most in awe at is the South Stand, which has been designed to look and feel like Borussia Dortmund's famous ‘Yellow Wall‘ grandstand, with that section being built at the steepest possible gradient allowed by law.
Early pictures and videos taken from the South Stand confirm that this new stand is incredibly steep, meaning that fans will feel like they are on top of the pitch and close to the action at all times. Bringing over the ferocious Goodison atmosphere is key and they shouldn't have too much trouble with that in the new South Stand.
Much has been made about the public transport to the new stadium though, with many visitors during the test events criticising the local train network, and the efficiency of getting fans away from the stadium quickly and safely. This is something out of the club's control of course, and Liverpool City Council are yet to announce what their plans will be once Everton move into the stadium for good next season.
Everton will be hoping that they can improve on the pitch in the coming years so that the club can get back to playing European football in their brand new, world-class stadium.