Couldn't be bothered making another thread and this seemed the most appropriate thread to post this stuff.
I was in uni today and we had a guest lecturer, the head of facilities management for Everton, who is in charge with looking after the day to day running of Finch Farm and Goodison Park.
A few interesting facts I thought I'd share:
- The chef that cooks for the players travels with the team everywhere they go to avoid food poisoning as much as possible. This person is based at Finch Farm and cooks all food for the players and is separate from the catering at Goodison Park which is outsourced.
- There is a pitch at Finch Farm which is a 100% replica of the one at Goodison Park.
- Finch Farm practically runs itself it is so modern.
- The club will be spending £250k upgrading floodlights this summer, as it is mandatory for the PL and UEFA.
- The pitch that was laid in the summer is a combination of plastic grass and real grass and is guaranteed for 10 years, whereas the pitch would usually be changed at the end of every season. This gives Everton the opportunity to rent out the pitch for the first few weeks of the summer, which has been completely fully booked already. Pitch cost £500k to install, and costs £10k each year to make it suitable for the new season, as opposed to the £100k it cost to replace the grass pitch each year.
- All the managers in the league conduct their press conferences on a Friday, whereas Martinez always conducts his on a Thursday. Why? To maximise media exposure.
- There are now ice baths in the changing rooms which each player will use straight after the game. Temperature 2 degrees. 'Kinell!
- Recyclable waste will be 'baled' on site and sold on, as opposed to paying someone to take the waste away.
- See those LED advertising hoardings around the pitch? We share them with Liverpool as they are horrendously expensive. A company will dismantle and install from one ground to another as there is never a time when there is a game on at Goodison and Anfield at the same time.
- On May 5th a new entrance to Goodison Park will be unveiled.
Works planned for Summer 2014:
- Bigger players lounge.
- Renovation of Bullens Road toilets.
- Renovate corporate offices (because of the hideous crest last season).
The future:
- Upgrade internal areas of the catering zones so they are more appealing, and will be similar to that of in the Park End stand. Facilities manager trying to make a business case to Sodexo as it could potentially bring more people in earlier before the match.
- Club's priority is to move still. 1 or 2 sites in the city being considered. We may know more within the next 6-12 months. As a result the club are reluctant to spend too much money on infrastructure within the stadium if it is not essential or does not provide a quick repayment.
- The stadium design is much the same as the one for Kirkby, with some elements updated. This will save on design costs.
So, most of that will be totally uninteresting to most people, but though I'd share it anyway.
