This, thanks to all the drone flyers, cant wait to see it in person after watching vids almost every day for a while over the last few years!
Funny to know the outside so well but not really know the inside at all!
Funny to know the outside so well but not really know the inside at all!
In case there’s Everton project folk on here, next job is, paint these ‘kin things blue.
Stadium was amazing. Quite surreal seeing it in person after following the build/progress.
Sounds as though it has potential to be very loud in terms of atmosphere under the right circumstances- acoustics seem very good.
To be honest it was everything I expected in terms of how good it is.
Only concerns for me which were hopefully just teething problems-
Queues
- I am not someone who is overly averse to crowds however at times when trying to get through the concourse I honestly felt as though it was a few extra people away from a bit of a crush- particularly the part where the Queue ends and the toilet blocks/walls meet. Only escape was up 1 of the blocks back towards the seats.
Didn't feel as though the concourse was deep enough to deal with the Queue and then the other traffic from people moving around the concourse.
Signage
- Took me a while to find my way around, felt there was a lack of signage at times. Even navigating the stadium itself and which stand was which/trying to find turnstiles etc but in fairness this is only a problem initially until you've been once or twice.
- Lack of Everton specific detail on the inside but again, this will be done over time I'd imagine
Overall though stadium is amazing, credit to moshiri as it wouldn't have happened without him ultimately
Sounds as though it has potential to be very loud in terms of atmosphere under the right circumstances- acoustics seem very good.
To be honest it was everything I expected in terms of how good it is.
Only concerns for me which were hopefully just teething problems-
Queues
- I am not someone who is overly averse to crowds however at times when trying to get through the concourse I honestly felt as though it was a few extra people away from a bit of a crush- particularly the part where the Queue ends and the toilet blocks/walls meet. Only escape was up 1 of the blocks back towards the seats.
Didn't feel as though the concourse was deep enough to deal with the Queue and then the other traffic from people moving around the concourse.
Signage
- Took me a while to find my way around, felt there was a lack of signage at times. Even navigating the stadium itself and which stand was which/trying to find turnstiles etc but in fairness this is only a problem initially until you've been once or twice.
- Lack of Everton specific detail on the inside but again, this will be done over time I'd imagine
Overall though stadium is amazing, credit to moshiri as it wouldn't have happened without him ultimately
Paul E
Player Valuation: £1.5m
My general observations from the last couple of games at the new ground is the views are incredible and walking to the ground I felt pride. Was great to see so many Everton shirts around the city centre too. It will just take a while for a lot of us to get used to the change. I also got stuck at turnstile 2 and that needs addressing. Something was seriously wrong there. There were 3 queues for one turnstile.
What has happened to their being lots of jobs for locals? They were pretty vocal about this in a lot of the communication. The club seem to have, I assume, tendered a lot of the work out so now the the accents you hear are certainly not local. Stewards (lots of them), security, staff serving food etc. Aramark are probably responsible for the latter but it just felt different.
Not a complaint by any stretch of the imagination, it just felt like they have taken a different path to what was originally planned or maybe they didn't get local engagement?
The new stance about not taking food or drink in will take some getting used to and that is a complaint. Not even a bottle of water allowed in and the additional searches to stop it. Never had a problem with that for years at Goodison. I appreciate there needs to be more revenue generated (or stop wasting money on crap players) but this is not the way to go about it. People will begin to feel ripped off and stay away from the ground as long as possible at the beginning and leave as quickly as possible at the end - the exact opposite of their objective and I think will become counterproductive.
What has happened to their being lots of jobs for locals? They were pretty vocal about this in a lot of the communication. The club seem to have, I assume, tendered a lot of the work out so now the the accents you hear are certainly not local. Stewards (lots of them), security, staff serving food etc. Aramark are probably responsible for the latter but it just felt different.
Not a complaint by any stretch of the imagination, it just felt like they have taken a different path to what was originally planned or maybe they didn't get local engagement?
The new stance about not taking food or drink in will take some getting used to and that is a complaint. Not even a bottle of water allowed in and the additional searches to stop it. Never had a problem with that for years at Goodison. I appreciate there needs to be more revenue generated (or stop wasting money on crap players) but this is not the way to go about it. People will begin to feel ripped off and stay away from the ground as long as possible at the beginning and leave as quickly as possible at the end - the exact opposite of their objective and I think will become counterproductive.
Chewbacca
Player Valuation: £30m
People chat wham
It's quite impossible for it to be an intimidating place at the moment, it's new, we have to create some history there first preferably by winning lots of matches, night match late winners etc and competing for trophies, I must say the one thing I did not like was the bigger space between the pitch sides and their adjacent stands - that part is definitely worse than Goodison and probably contributed to your feeling of it being non intimidating.
Where was the Everton identity IN the stadium? Everton/EFC on the seating etc, club need to sort that out and also bring our statues to increase the identity on the outside of the stadium - do these things and will feel more like home.
KevMirallas
Player Valuation: £35m
A caveat that these are thoughts from a very long way away, and can be totally dismissed as the only opinions that really matter are the ones from people who are going to be in the building every fortnight.
There were a few times on the broadcast that the thing looked absolutely massive. It panned to the South Stand with the goal still in shot, and the wall looked incredible... and that was only the bottom half, up to the concrete divider. Not sure there's a stadium in the league that can compare with that sense of scale, at least through the broadcast anyway.
Impossible to judge atmosphere at a friendly. Seemed like the game was really a thing that happened while people sussed out the new digs, which is fair enough. The real test will be the Brighton game and the first penalty shout, the first howler from the ref, the first goal. And then the first big moment in the season, whenever that comes. Until those moments come and go, it's not going to feel like Everton's. But they'll come.
It's a shame the away end is where it is. Takes up such a big portion of the shot on broadcast. Not the end of the world, but they would have been better hidden away. I'm sure I read the 1878 weren't getting involved for a while, but their touches would make a huge difference in Evertonising the whole thing.
Ultimately though it looks, from afar, a monumental success and I still can't quite believe Everton pulled it off. It's only going to get better too, and I'm sure I won't be the only one making plans for a pilgrimage as soon as possible.
There were a few times on the broadcast that the thing looked absolutely massive. It panned to the South Stand with the goal still in shot, and the wall looked incredible... and that was only the bottom half, up to the concrete divider. Not sure there's a stadium in the league that can compare with that sense of scale, at least through the broadcast anyway.
Impossible to judge atmosphere at a friendly. Seemed like the game was really a thing that happened while people sussed out the new digs, which is fair enough. The real test will be the Brighton game and the first penalty shout, the first howler from the ref, the first goal. And then the first big moment in the season, whenever that comes. Until those moments come and go, it's not going to feel like Everton's. But they'll come.
It's a shame the away end is where it is. Takes up such a big portion of the shot on broadcast. Not the end of the world, but they would have been better hidden away. I'm sure I read the 1878 weren't getting involved for a while, but their touches would make a huge difference in Evertonising the whole thing.
Ultimately though it looks, from afar, a monumental success and I still can't quite believe Everton pulled it off. It's only going to get better too, and I'm sure I won't be the only one making plans for a pilgrimage as soon as possible.
UltraVires
Player Valuation: £10m
I thought the amount coming out from the posh seats 20 mins into the second half a bit jarring for our club too. Something you see Wembley but not what you expect every week at our club I wouldn’t say
Connor mcloud
Player Valuation: £10m
They where all getting there fill of the "free" ale, nice surprise actually because it wasnt part of our season ticket package plus a token for your food and got given a programme too,
I was in Village St, couple of lads on stage down one end were good,
Had a few drinks overlooking the river, felt like a proper day out thoroughly enjoyed it.
There were no posh people in the "posh" seats btw, just normal fans
UltraVires
Player Valuation: £10m
My overall view is that the ground looks amazing from the outside and all the bars and different things popping up will be incredible for atmosphere in a few years when they get going.
The Everton Way bit is brilliant and it was great seeing how much it meant to some people there today, shows the strength of feeling we have for our club.
The views from the seats were great too and are night and day from the Goodison experience from that perspective, no obscured views for sure.
However, the public areas/concourses don’t seem totally fit for purpose to me. Escalators used in some areas of the ground but not others leading to insane amounts of stairs for some sections. Queues for food/drink chaos and the staff behind the bar looked overwhelmed so not sure if it’s a competency issue or if they were hung out to dry because they hadn’t been trained enough. Pricing seems an absolute joke, I couldn’t get near to the front to get a photo of the food / drink pricing but from what I have read it seems as though they are trying to rinse fans.
Also, get the Bud adverts in blue and not red inside the stadium too and paint more of the bland concrete in blue while they are at it so it looks like a home and not a breeze block building site in some areas
The Everton Way bit is brilliant and it was great seeing how much it meant to some people there today, shows the strength of feeling we have for our club.
The views from the seats were great too and are night and day from the Goodison experience from that perspective, no obscured views for sure.
However, the public areas/concourses don’t seem totally fit for purpose to me. Escalators used in some areas of the ground but not others leading to insane amounts of stairs for some sections. Queues for food/drink chaos and the staff behind the bar looked overwhelmed so not sure if it’s a competency issue or if they were hung out to dry because they hadn’t been trained enough. Pricing seems an absolute joke, I couldn’t get near to the front to get a photo of the food / drink pricing but from what I have read it seems as though they are trying to rinse fans.
Also, get the Bud adverts in blue and not red inside the stadium too and paint more of the bland concrete in blue while they are at it so it looks like a home and not a breeze block building site in some areas
UltraVires
Player Valuation: £10m
What is village street? Heard it mentioned and don’t remember it being an option when looking at my options when I was buying my ST.
How much was it for a ST in there with food and ale thrown in?
BullensRoad
Player Valuation: £35m
I disagree. There were serious waiting times for every kiosk and staff who had no idea how to deal with it.
Understanding teething problems and the unused kiosks will solve this.
Claiming everything is ok will not solve the issue.
BullensRoad
Player Valuation: £35m
A wholistic view is they got people to transition the move from goodison who aren't fit for purpose.
The potential for the stadium is incredible but they completely missed the easily achievable benefits that could have been experienced yesterday.
The potential for the stadium is incredible but they completely missed the easily achievable benefits that could have been experienced yesterday.
UltraVires
Player Valuation: £10m
Which people do you mean? The problem areas was in the bars and they will all be new staff I imagine and the stewards can’t do much about the amount of stairs around the place either
GoldenToffee
Player Valuation: £70m
The stadium is clearly head and shoulders above Goodison in every imaginable way. Comsidering we've been on the verge of going bust in recent years, it's a miracle to even be moving into a new place—let alone one that is so unique and future fit. Clearly it's a stadium and home to be proud of.
We can also criticise things though when they are obviously not up to standard. It seems there were many issues yesterday from turnstiles not working to fans being unaware of escalators' location or even escalators not working, to food kiosks being overwhelmed and people having difficulty navigating through the concourses as they feel the toilets are located completely wrongly opposite to the kiosks.
We can also be disappointed that the 'wall' behind the goal for some reason never came to fruition, and I personally don't understand the extreme size of the accessibility areas at the front of the stands. We can also be disappointed that there is little branding inside of the stadium, and the the club hasn't yet bothered to paint lots of the grey concrete which stands out like a sore thumb.
These are things to nit-pick at and we shouldn't lose sight that yesterday was a test event, fully intended on having such issues like in my second paragraph stand out so that they can be fixed ahead of the Brighton game.
I personally wish fans would knock this 'best stadium in the country' on the head when it's clear (as it should be given they spent more than double and this was before the price of materials went up during the war) the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is superior in every single way—perhaps only not by location. For Everton, in 2025, with all that's happened with us and us being crap for three straight decades, it's a great stadium and one we should be delighted with.
In terms of the success of yesterday, I'd say it was pretty much perfect, because now the issues are crystal clear and most of them can very easily and quickly be rectified ahead of our opening home game.
Goodison Park 3/10
Hill Dickinson Stadium 9/10
We can also criticise things though when they are obviously not up to standard. It seems there were many issues yesterday from turnstiles not working to fans being unaware of escalators' location or even escalators not working, to food kiosks being overwhelmed and people having difficulty navigating through the concourses as they feel the toilets are located completely wrongly opposite to the kiosks.
We can also be disappointed that the 'wall' behind the goal for some reason never came to fruition, and I personally don't understand the extreme size of the accessibility areas at the front of the stands. We can also be disappointed that there is little branding inside of the stadium, and the the club hasn't yet bothered to paint lots of the grey concrete which stands out like a sore thumb.
These are things to nit-pick at and we shouldn't lose sight that yesterday was a test event, fully intended on having such issues like in my second paragraph stand out so that they can be fixed ahead of the Brighton game.
I personally wish fans would knock this 'best stadium in the country' on the head when it's clear (as it should be given they spent more than double and this was before the price of materials went up during the war) the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is superior in every single way—perhaps only not by location. For Everton, in 2025, with all that's happened with us and us being crap for three straight decades, it's a great stadium and one we should be delighted with.
In terms of the success of yesterday, I'd say it was pretty much perfect, because now the issues are crystal clear and most of them can very easily and quickly be rectified ahead of our opening home game.
Goodison Park 3/10
Hill Dickinson Stadium 9/10
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