Everton fans are starting to settle into their new 52,000-seater Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Bidding farewell to Goodison Park was emotional, but the move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium was a necessity for Everton to progress as a club.
The new stadium could earn the Toffees an extra £40m-a-year, so quite clearly it’s going to have transformative effects on the finances.
From a football perspective, though, we decided to speak to a match-going fan about their experience of the stadium so far.
The supporter has named three positives and negatives about the new ground.
Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Three positives about the Hill Dickinson Stadium
Speaking to Everton News, a match-going fan explained that the food at the Hill Dickinson is a massive improvement on Goodison Park.
“The food is miles better than Goodison, even if it’s more expensive. Also there’s way more places to get beer before and at HT, so the waiting isn’t as bad.
The supporter also noted that the views around the place are sensational and there’s a lot more leg room in the stands.
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“The views out the windows in some of the stands, unreal place for a pint. Pint choices are better. Steepness of the stands are definitely better. More leg room”
The stadium architect revealed they made the stands as steep as possible in line with the regulations, so it felt like the supporters were on top of the pitch, just like at Goodison Park.
Three things that can be improved at the Hill Dickinson Stadium
The supporter explained that there are still issues with the funnelling at Sandhills train station.
“At Sandhills (the train station they tell you to get off at) the funnelling system still needs a lot of work after matches,” he told the site.
“There’s a DJ outside the stadium and I saw he was playing tunes after the 3-0 Spurs loss, so maybe they could do without that.
They also felt as though the toilet facilities could be improved: “Weird one but there’s not enough urinals in the toilet. Toilet facilities need expanding.”
“There’s also stuff like congestion in the main space just outside the stadium, but they can’t really help that because of the wall around it, which is listed and can’t be knocked down.
Finally, he does have some concerns around the fact that some of the hardcore fans have been split up.
“The new stadium has kind of dispersed the hardcore fans though. Like in lower particularly but also upper Gwladys, there were people who had sat together for decades and started chants, etc. That’s died off a little bit.”