Retaining Goodison Park will provide long-term certainty to the wider community around the historic stadium, according to the leader of Liverpool Council.
It was confirmed on Tuesday that from next season, Everton’s women’s team will call the ground home as the men’s team make the transition to Bramley-Moore Dock.
The decision follows an in-depth review of the Goodison Legacy project by The Friedkin Group (TFG) since their takeover in December. It ensures a new lease of life for the Grand Old Lady beyond Sunday’s game which had been anticipated to be the final match in its storied history.
Reacting to the news, Cllr Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool Council, paid tribute to The Friedkin Group for the move and said it would provide vital reassurance to the communities and businesses around the ground, particularly on County Road. The Goodison Legacy project was launched in 2020 to define the future of Goodison.
The move to install the women’s team in L4 addresses Everton Women’s need for a larger, more suitable venue than Walton Hall Park. Phase one of the transition will include stadium upgrades to enhance the matchday experience and ensure adequate facilities are in place before the start of the season.
The relocation will also generate economic opportunities for local businesses through matchday footfall. In addition to hosting Everton Women, it will stage selected Academy matches and expand Everton in the Community’s L4 campus.
The club said Walton Hall Park will continue to serve grassroots, community, and development programmes for women’s and girls’ football. Speaking on BBC Radio Merseyside, Cllr Robinson said the move would work for all parties.
He said, “This is wonderful news. This city’s famous for having two cathedrals, I think we can now arguably say we’ve got three cathedrals of world football with Anfield, Goodison remaining and now Bramley-Moore Dock.
“I think it’s going to be brilliant for the women’s game, it will be the biggest dedicated women’s stadium within the Women’s Super League (WSL), I think it’ll be the away day every WSL player and away fan will be looking forward to, but actually the best news around this is it gives some really good, long-term certainty to County Road and the community around County Road in Walton.”
Angus Kinnear, Everton’s new chief executive, said the decision was not without “obstacles” but the club was confident it could “make this a success both practically and economically”. Cllr Robinson said retaining Goodison would also strike a chord with fans on an emotional level.
He said, “I know for Evertonians particularly, that emotional home that Goodison Park is, having it still there, having arguably the best stadium in the WSL is great news for them and for the city. While there were some good ambitious plans, there wasn’t all the details we needed to know.
“Now we’ve got a defined way going forward, I think it shows the way The Friedkin Group genuinely are taking a very ambitious, forward-looking approach to running of the club with the right responsibilities to the community they serve as well.”
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