Goodison Park

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Goodison Park
The Grand Old Lady
UEFA
Location	Goodison Road, Liverpool
Opened	August 24 1892
Owner	Everton F.C.
Operator	Everton F.C.
Surface	Grass ( 112 x 78 yards, 102.4 x 71.3 metres)
Construction cost	£3000[1]
Architect	Kelly Brothers
Former names	Mere Green
Tenants	Everton F.C. (1892-present)
Capacity	40,569

Goodison Park is the home ground of Everton F.C. in Liverpool. It was built in 1892, and now has a total capacity of 40,569 all-seated.

[edit] History

Built in 1892, on what was Mere Green field, it is one of the oldest and most historic football grounds in the world and was the first major football stadium in England. Goodison Park was the first purpose built football stadium in England. Mere Green field cost £8,090, with an interest free loan of £1,000 from the Catholic Dr Baxter, helping to secure the purchase. It was officially opened on 24th August 1892. The mortgage was cleared during season 1904/05. Kelly Brothers of Walton, erected two uncovered stands, each to accommodate 4.000 & a covered stand to accommodate 3,000, at a cost of £1,640. Twelve turnstiles cost a total of £93. It is also nicknamed the Grand Old Lady. It was the first British sports ground ever to have double-decker stands on all 4 sides and the first to have a 3 tier stand. It was also the first English league ground to have undersoil heating. In 1913 it became the first English football ground to be visited by a reigning monarch, King George V.

The first covered dugouts in England were constructed at Goodison, in 1931, following Everton's visit to Pittodrie to play a friendly against Aberdeen, where such dugouts had been constructed at the behest of the Dons' trainer Donald Coleman.

The ground staged 5 matches including a semi-final for the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the final for the 1894 FA Cup and the FA Cup Final replay in 1910. Everton have hosted more international matches than any other English club. On 6th April 1895 Goodison hosted England v Scotland and so Everton became the first club to host England internationals on two grounds. Liverpool also became the first English city to stage England games at three different venues. Goodison was also, in 1949, the site of England's first ever home defeat by a non-Home Nations country, namely the Republic of Ireland. The last Everton player to play in an international at Goodison was Ray Wilson for England v Poland 5th January 1966. The game ended 1-1 and England's goal was scored by Bobby Moore. This was his first international goal and the only one on English soil. In 1973 Goodison hosted Northern Ireland's home games against Wales & England.

The greatest match the stadium has ever held, according to voters at Everton's official website, was a European Cup Winners' Cup semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich in 1985. Munich, leading at half time, were defeated by three second half Everton goals from Andy Gray, Graeme Sharp and Trevor Steven.

On 26th December 1920, Goodison hosted a match between; Dick, Kerr's Ladies & St Helens Ladies. An estimated 67,000 turned up for the match, 14,000 of which were locked out. The average gate at Goodison in 1919/1920 was 29,050. Dick, Kerr's Ladies won 4-0 & over £3,000 was raised for charity.

In seasons 1962/63 & 1963/64 attendances for league matches were in excess of 1,000,000.

The ground is situated in a tightly-packed residential district, which has made expansion of the ground extremely difficult, if not impossible. One corner of the ground is actually formed by a church, St Luke the Evangelist's.

The pitch is one of the largest in the Premiership (or the old Football League), most pitches tending towards a de facto standard of 110 x 70 yards. Goodison Park is considerably wider, and slightly longer.

[edit] Stands

The ground is made up of 4 stands:

The Park End - capacity 6,000. A single-tier, cantilever stand completed in 1994. At the South end of the ground, behind one goal, the Park Stand backs onto Walton Lane which borders Stanley Park. It was re-constructed in 1995. During the 1960s and 1970s, both ends featured a large semi-circle behind the goals, slightly reminiscent of the old Wembley Stadium. Its double decker predecessor, built in 1906, formerly accommodated the away fans. The lower tier of the old stand was never seated and was used for major games only in the last years of the stand's life, becoming one of the last standing areas at a premiership ground.

Bullens Road - capacity 8,067. A two-tier stand designed by the renowned football ground architect Archibald Leitch and completed in 1926. On the East side of the ground the stand is divided into the Upper Bullens, Lower Bullens and the Paddock. Originally, the stand was a double decker with an upper seated stand and lower terrace (the Paddock). The rear of the Paddock was seated in 1963, creating three tiers. All three tiers are now seated. The rear of the The South end of the Bullens Road stand houses away supporters. The North corner of the stand is connected to the Gwladys Street Stand.

Gwladys Street End - capacity 10,155. Another two-tier Archibald Leitch stand, divided into Upper Gwladys and Lower Gwladys. Behind the goal at the North end of Goodison Park, the Lower Gwladys can be said to hold the most boisterous and vociferous Evertonians. If Everton win the toss before kick-off they always elect to play towards the Gwladys Street End in the second half. The Lower Gwladys (formerly known as the "Gwladys Street Terrace" and "the Ground") was seated in 1992.

Main Stand - capacity 16,347 (upper tiers). A three-tier stand, incorporating the Main Stand, Family Enclosure and Top Balcony, as well as what, for such a large ground, is a relatively small number of corporate boxes. The current Main Stand was completed in 1971, at a cost of £1m, following the demolition of the previous 1909 incarnation (another Archibald Leitch design). The Main Stand houses the teams' changing rooms, and the players enter the pitch from a surprisingly discreet tunnel at the halfway line in the Main Stand. Unusually (particularly considering the date of construction) the Top Balcony is accessed by escalator. [1]

[edit] The future

For more details on this topic, see New Goodison.

Goodison Park became all-seater in 1994 with the construction of the Park end, taking the capacity to just over 40,000. It is theoretically possible to expand the ground, but the club considers that it would not be financially viable to do so, and therefore wishes to move.

In 1996, chairman Peter Johnson announced the club's intention to leave Goodison Park. Although the move was met with opposition from some supporters groups, most notably Goodison Forever-ton (GFE), the club undertook the first of two supporter ballots at the last game of the 1996/97 season to guauge reaction to a proposed move to a site on the Kirkby Golf Course. Although it was much disputed at the time, particularly with the GFE's calls to the club chairman to hold the ballot under the rules of the Electoral Reform Society, the reported 82% vote in favour of leaving Goodison was generally accepted as being a true barometer of voting supporter sentiments at the time. However, within just six days of the vote, the club chairman stunned most fans by suggesting that Kirkby Golf Course may not be the preferred location of Everton's new ground and that sites as far afield as Cronton and Burtonwood were not being ruled out.

After 18 months of trying, the GFE finally released an architectural study which they disproved the club's official line, that Goodison Park could not be redeveloped to a capacity in excess of 45,000. Given Everton's precarious standing, though, there was very little appetite for discussions about the ground issue. Indeed, by the time the true picture of Everton's dire financial crisis emerged in November 1998, following the controversial sale of Duncan Ferguson to Newcastle United, which prompted Peter Johnson to sell his stake in the club, it was obvious to all, especially the new owner, Bill Kenwright, that any talk of a ground move would have to be shelved for some considerable time. Nevertheless, the question over Goodison Park's future still lurked in the background and by early 2000 - four years after the question of moving was first aired - the debate was back in full swing as Everton sought to secure land and planning permission at King's Dock. On 18 November 2000, the club initiated the second ballot of supporters. Again the GFE was the only serious opposition, citing that it would eventually be proved that the club would not be able to afford a stake in the project and calling for Everton to finally bite-the-bullet and start a redevelopment of Goodison which would be completed by 2005 (noting that had such an ambition been undertaken at the first time of asking in 1996 that it would be nearly completed). Again, though, the vote was overwhelmingly in favour of leaving Goodison Park, this time with some 85% of voting fans declaring their willingness to move. Although Everton were eventually granted preferred bidder status, over twelve other applicants, the deal fell through in 2003 after Everton failed to secure their necessary £30m investment and an alternative bidder was chosen.

In late 2004, representatives from the club met with representatives of their local rivals Liverpool and the Sports Minister to discuss plans to build a joint stadium, Stanley Park. However, this proposal was rejected by both clubs. This leaves Everton with the decision to either build a new stadium on their own, or try and rebuild Goodison Park. As of June 2006, Everton have received at least three offers from Knowsley and Sefton to relocate a few miles outside Liverpool. They are currently in talks with the supermarket Tesco to make a joint bid to build a stadium complex in Knowsley. Supporters opposed to the plans have since formed the KEIOC (Keep Everton In Our City) lobby group.

Despite a vociferous campaign the group failed to sway opinion sufficiently, and a subsequent postal ballot held by the club ended with 59% of submitted votes being in favour of a move to Kirkby. 41% had voted against the move, despite the club telling fans it would be "effectively free" after the sale of Goodison Park, Bellefield and Stadium Naming Rights.Everton hope to move to their new stadium in 2010.

[edit] Details

[edit] Records

Record Attendance: 78,299 v Liverpool, September 18, 1948 (Old Division One)

[edit] Average attendances