English Premier League soccer side Everton FC has finally revealed the design plans for a new waterfront stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, which will not only give the club a boost to grow from its current home of Goodison Park, but also redevelop the site’s surrounding area.
Designed by renowned architects Meis, the futuristic-looking, state-of-the-art stadium is intended to remain true to the intimacy of the 39,592 seater Goodison Park, while also including historic elements of the surrounding site. Here 10 design features of the new stadium:
The structure combines the historic and the modern, with the brick base of the stadium incorporating a subtle nod to Goodison Park’s famous Archibald Leitch latticework while the dynamic roof structure made from steel and glass gives the stadium a modern finish.
Design is said to take inspiration from the city’s maritime history
Capacity is 52,000 with the potential to rise to 62,000 in the future, subject to further planning permission.
The stadium is made up of four distinctive stands including a large steep home stand to the south that will house 13,000 Everton FC fans on matchdays.
The North and South stand lower tiers will make it easy to adopt rail seating and, should legislation change in the future, they could also be converted into areas for safe standing.
Supporters will be as close to the action as Premier League regulations permit, which is five meters (16.4ft).
The proposals include extensive public spaces for use on both matchdays and non-matchdays, including a Fan Plaza to the east of the stadium focus for pre-and post-match entertainment and activity.
The design is said to help amplify the noise within the stadium for match atmosphere.
Built on a north-south orientation, it is designed to avoid the impact of sunshine and shadow on the fans, as well as avoiding issues with television broadcast.
The introduction of the new stadium is estimated to deliver a US$1.2bn (£1bn) boost to the city’s economy.
Speaking at the unveiling of the new plans, Prof. Denise Barrett-Baxendale, Everton’s chief executive officer, said: “Today marks an incredibly important milestone for us as we seek to build a new stadium which will act as a ‘game-changer’ for the Club and our city region. It is, first and foremost, a stadium for football, for our passionate fans and for our players. A stadium that gives Everton Football Club a platform for growth both commercially and socially. But it is also a stadium for the entire city and a development which will deliver transformative benefits in terms of regeneration and inclusive growth for the whole Liverpool City Region and for North Liverpool in particular.”
