Everton have announced that Goodison Park will become the permanent home of their women’s team, marking a historic shift in how the club uses its iconic stadium.
With the men’s team preparing to move into their new fifty-three-thousand-seater stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock this summer, the club—now owned by The Friedkin Group—opted to rethink plans for Goodison Park.
With the men’s team preparing to move into their new fifty-three-thousand-seater stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock this summer, the club—now owned by The Friedkin Group—opted to rethink plans for Goodison Park.
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00:00Everton have announced that Goodison Park will become the permanent home of their women's team, marking a historic shift in how the club uses its iconic stadium.
00:13With the men's team preparing to move into their 53,000-seater stadium at Bramley Moor Dock this summer, the club, now owned by the Freaking Group, opted to rethink plans for Goodison Park.
00:25Originally, the site was due to be demolished and redeveloped at a cost of £82 million.
00:32Instead, after a fresh feasibility study, Everton have decided to preserve Goodison and transform it into the country's largest dedicated women's football stadium with a capacity of just under 40,000.
00:46This long-term vision reflects our commitment to the women's game, read a club statement.
00:51We want Goodison Park to remain at the heart of football and community life in Liverpool.
00:57Angus Kinnear, Everton's CEO, said Goodison means everything to Evertonians.
01:03Keeping it active, alive and meaningful is vital for our club and its identity.
01:08It's such an amazing ground and so much history is built into it and it's not just that it's a special ground as an Everton fan, I think it's a special ground for football, for English football, for world football even.
01:23Everton women currently play at Walton Hall Park, around one mile from Goodison, but that venue holds just over 2,000 fans with only 500 seats available.
01:32The hybrid pitch and limited facilities have made top-level progress difficult.
01:39Improvements will now be made to Goodison's changing rooms and the stadium will be visually rebranded to reflect the women's squad and its history.
01:47Walton Hall Park will still be used for community and girls' football.
01:52Julie Clark of the Everton Fan Advisory Board said,
01:55Former England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis added,
02:07We've played everywhere over the years and now it finally feels like Everton women have found their true home.