David Moyes is excited about Everton’s “new era” as the club prepares to move into the Hill Dickinson Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock after bidding goodbye to Goodison Park this season. The Scottish manager wants to usher in a successful transition to the new ground.
Built on the banks of the river Mersey, the state-of-the-art stadium has a capacity of 52,888 and is expected to elevate Everton’s status as a club and help the club’s commercial ambitions.
The Blues have played their home games at Goodison Park for 133 years and bidding goodbye to the ground in the penultimate league game against Southampton was a nostalgic and emotional experience.
“It’s a huge boost for the football club, and I think we’re all excited about the thought of the new stadium. I think everybody here has been waiting for a long time for the move from Goodison,” said Moyes.
“I think we’ll be sad – sad that we’re moving on from Goodison, but I’m sure we’ll always think back to the great days and what it was like here. But to move forward into a new era, I think it’s what we need, and we’re all looking forward to that step.”
While the idea of physically moving into a new stadium sounds exciting, Moyes is aware that the club will be losing a lot of prestige and history that was previously associated with Goodison. He is keen on ensuring that Everton fans continue to bring the same kind of intensity, passion and atmosphere to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
“We’ve built an iconic stadium on the waterfront and I think, from a build perspective, it looks as if we’ve done everything we can to try to make it work for the players and the club.
“I don’t think it’s an easy thing – moving stadium – but I hope we can take the Goodison noise and all of the things we love about it into the new place. I think the new stadium is similar to Goodison in that the supporters will still be close to the pitch but it will be really important now for the supporters to feel at home quickly – and, of course, the big thing is giving everybody a team they can shout about.”
Moyes’ return to the club proved to be season-defining. Everton were struggling in the final months of Sean Dyche’s tenure and lingering dangerously close to the relegation zone. The Scottish manager not only steered the club to safety but did it comfortably and helped the Blues to their highest points total since Carlo Ancelotti’s time at Merseyside.
Everton beat Southampton 2-0 in their emotional sendoff to Goodison Park last month with Iliman Ndiaye writing his name in history after scoring a brace.
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