How disillusioned Liverpool and Everton fans are helping fuel a sixth-tier club’s stadium dream

Marine's rise is being powered by supporters looking for a different football experience from the one offered by the Premier League.

Now the Merseyside non-league outfit is planning a new stadium as its growing fanbase and ambitions begin to outgrow its current home.

Marine capitalising on disillusioned Liverpool and Everton fans

Marine's average attendance has risen from around 300 to roughly 1,400 since the club's famous 2021 FA Cup run against Tottenham Hotspur, which generated around £650,000 and helped transform its finances.

The Crosby club now generates around £1.6m in annual revenue and has secured two promotions in six years, but its current Rossett Park home is struggling to keep pace.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Marine chief executive James Leary says the club needs a new stadium capable of serving it for the next 100 years, with hopes of moving around summer 2029.

The proposed move two miles away to Thornton has divided supporters, but the club believes remaining at its current ground could restrict further progress.

The planned stadium would also include a youth zone, providing a safe space for 16 and 17-year-olds who cannot afford to attend Liverpool or Everton.

That ambition has been fuelled by supporters who have become increasingly disillusioned with the Premier League. Liverpool fan Adam Bretherton said Marine made him feel like a football supporter rather than a customer, while Evertonian Bobby Rooney said he felt “valued” at the sixth-tier club.

Marine's challenge is ensuring growth does not undermine the qualities that attracted those supporters in the first place.

FGG says: Marine's new stadium could protect what makes the club different

Marine's stadium dream is fascinating because it is not simply about building something bigger.

The club wants to create enough space to keep progressing while protecting the community values that have helped attract disillusioned Liverpool and Everton supporters.

A move away from Rossett Park will inevitably change something, but the proposed youth facilities and wider ambition suggest Marine are trying to make their next stadium about the community as much as football.

If they can deliver that while continuing their rise up the pyramid, Marine could provide a compelling alternative to the increasingly commercialised experience some supporters feel has taken over at the top of the game.