Everton fans don’t have too much longer to wait now until Bramley-Moore Dock becomes the club’s new home.
There are only two months remaining this season, meaning there are now only a handful of games left to play at Goodison Park.
The feeling for many is bittersweet.
Plenty are said at having to bid farewell to Goodison. But there is also major excitement for supporters having seen the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock start hosting fans.
There have been two test events at BMD so far.
And the latest came yesterday, as the Everton U21s took on Bolton in front of 25,000 fans, with a scheduled evacuation taking place on 65 minutes which also signalled the end of the game.
After the game, manager Paul Tait gave his thoughts about the new stadium after his first experience.
Paul Tait insists Bramley-Moore Dock will be ‘a special place’ for Everton fans
Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Everton U21s beat Bolton 1-0 courtesy of a late, headed goal from Kingsford Boakye.
That prompted big cheers from the fans inside, and ultimately confirmed Tait as the first Everton manager to win at BMD.
Yesterday’s game was a big thrill for Tait, who has a long and proud association with the Toffees after coming through the club’s academy in the early 1990s.
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What he said after his first matchday experience at the new stadium is bound to excite Evertonians ahead of next season.
He told the club’s official website: “The noise when the fans started singing after our goal – it gave me goosebumps. It was unreal. When this place is bouncing and full for a Premier League game with the first team, it will just be absolutely incredible. We just got a little taste of it this afternoon and it will live with the players for a long time.
“It’s aspirational for our players. We have the first-team squad train right next to us at Finch Farm. Now they’ve got this amazing stadium to try to get into the first team and play in.
“I think the supporters are going to be so proud of this place. I had my family up there today watching and I’ve seen them before the game and that was quite emotional for me just having them three there. It’s going to be iconic. It’s going to be a special place.”
Exciting times for Everton
While some Everton fans have criticised the transport links and traffic around Bramley-Moore Dock, the stadium itself is truly impressive.
Jamie Carragher recently claimed most Everton fans really want this new stadium move, and it’s difficult to see how anyone can be against this now seeing BMD in all its glory.
Tait got to experience BMD at only half the capacity, and it still had a very profound impact on him.
So one can only imagine what it’ll be like when the first-team play their first game next season.
Hopefully, this new stadium will now play host to some special memories for Evertonians, just as Goodison did for all those years.