Goodison Park
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| The Grand Old Lady | |
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| Former names | Mere Green |
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| Location | Goodison Road, Liverpool |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Opened | 24 August 1892 |
| Owner | Everton F.C. |
| Operator | Everton F.C. |
| Surface | Grass (101 x 68 metres) |
| Construction cost | £3000[1] |
| Architect | Kelly Brothers |
| Capacity | 40,158 |
| Tenants | |
| Everton F.C. (1892-present) | |
Goodison Park is the home ground of Everton F.C. in Liverpool. It was built in 1892, and now has a total capacity of 40,158 all-seated.
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[edit] History
In 1891 John Houlding, the leaseholder of Anfield stadium, purchased the ground outright and proposed increasing the rent from £100 to £250 per year. Everton, who had played at Anfield for seven years, refused to meet his demands and moved to Goodison Park.[2]
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 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 24 August 1892.
The first league game at Goodison Park took place on 3 September 1892 with Nottingham Forest supplying the opposition. The game ended in a 2-2 draw with the honour of scoring the first competitive goal at Goodison going to Forest’s Horace Pike, with the first Everton goal coming from Fred Geary. The team’s first league victory at their new ground came in the next home game when they crushed Newton Heath 6-0.
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. On 6 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 5 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 26 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
Goodison Park has a total capacity of 40,158 all-seated.
[edit] Main Stand
Capacity: 12,664
Constructed: 1971
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 designed by Archibald Leitch. 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.
[edit] Bullens Road
Capacity: 10,784
Constructed: 1926
Bullens Road is 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 South end of the Bullens Road stand houses away supporters. The North corner of the stand is connected to the Gwladys Street Stand.
[edit] Gwladys Street End
Capacity: 10,788
Constructed: 1938
Glwadys Street, like Bullens Road is a two-tier Archibald Leitch stand, it is 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 convert to all-seats in 1992.
[edit] The Park End
Capacity: 5,922
Constructed: 1994
Following UEFA's choice of selecting England as the host of the European Championships in 1996, grants became available for teams who wished to apply to host games in the tournament. Everton chose to apply for the a grant and opted to develop a two-tier, cantilever stand, however the second tier has never been built due to rising costs and then chairman Peter Johnson's reluctance to meet the shortfall and to this day the Stanley Park End remains a single tier stand with the smallest capacity at the ground.
At the South end of the ground, behind one goal, the Park Stand backs onto Walton Lane which borders Stanley Park. 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.
[edit] The future
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For more details on this topic, see New Goodison.
It is possible to expand Goodison Park further but officials at the club currently believe that it would not be financially viable to do so. The officials at Everton wish to relocate to a new stadium in neighbouring borough Knowsley as part of a project called 'Destination Kirkby' which would include the United Kingdom's largest Tesco supermarket. The plans were 'called in' for a public inquiry and the outcome will be known in the Winter months of 2009 following a decision by Secretary of State Hazel Blears.
[edit] Details
[edit] Records
Record Attendance: 78,299 v Liverpool, 18 September 1948 (Old Division One)
[edit] Average attendances
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(Placing in attendance table in brackets) [edit] Important matches played at Goodison ParkResults of FA Cup Finals at Goodison Park
Results of Other Important Matches at Goodison Park
1 Northern Ireland's goal was scored by Everton player Alex Stevenson, which meant that he became the first player to score an international away goal on his club's home ground.
2 This was one of two matches which trialled having two referees in a single match. The other trial was on 8 May 1935 when the Football League team beat West Bromwich Albion 9-6 at The Hawthorns.
3 Due to war damage, Old Trafford was closed at the time, and Manchester United were playing their home matches at Maine Road. However, on the same day, Manchester City were at home to Chelsea in another FA Cup tie and as a result this tie was switched to Goodison Park.
4 This was the first time that England had been beaten at home by a team from outside the Home Nations.
5 The original schedule of the 1966 World Cup meant that if England won their group and then reached the Semi final, the match would be held at Goodison Park. However, the organising committee were allowed to swap the venues, with England playing Portugal at Wembley Stadium.
6 On 22 February 1973 the Irish FA announced that Northern Ireland's home matches in the Home International Championship would be moved to Goodison Park due to the civil unrest within Belfast at that time. These are the only home matches that Northern Ireland have played outside of Northern Ireland itself.
7 This is the only time that England have played as the away side in a match at an English ground.
8 Due to a pitch invasion at the original match (which Newcastle United won 4-3), the F.A. ordered the tie to be replayed at a neutral venue.
[edit] Trivia
[edit] Famous Quotes
[edit] Footnotes[edit] External links[edit] References
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