Everton's Start to a New Era

stadiawold attended the final test event at Everton FC's Hill Dickinson Stadium before the club finally moves into its new home. Impressions from the venue show how the dress rehearsal went and what the new stadium has to offer.

After four years of construction, things got serious in west Liverpool. A final test before Everton FC finally moves into its new home and plays its first competitive match at Hill Dickinson Stadium on the second matchday of the 2025/26 Premier League season.

Almost exactly four years after the ground-breaking ceremony on 10th August 2021, the dress rehearsal for the move took place. On paper, it was a friendly match between Everton FC and AS Roma. For those in charge of the Toffees, however, the match was much more than just a test match. It was more of a first stress test. It was the first time that Hill Dickinson Stadium had used its full capacity. The new home stadium offers up to 52,769 seats in league play.

The gates to the spacious Fan Plaza opened at 12 noon. Considering that more than 50,000 fans can fit into the stadium and access is exclusively via four entrances, admission went surprisingly smoothly. The fan plaza itself offered numerous food trucks and a stage where a presenter guided the audience through the programme alongside a live band, interviewing Dan Meis, the stadium's architect, among others.

At 1 pm., two hours before kick-off, the stadium itself opened its doors and the numerous fans were able to take a look inside for probably the first time. The nearly 53,000 seats are spread across two tiers of stands, with the upper tier of the south stand being significantly smaller than the other three stands. This is due to a large glass front that floods the stadium with light during the day.

Home fans are located in the southstand, while the away fans are located in the north-east corner. Members of the press and some VIP and business guests are seated in the west stand. Journalists have two rows at their disposal, equipped with power, a display and an Ethernet connection. In addition, a powerful WiFi network ensures good internet coverage throughout the stadium.

Incidentally, the game on the pitch did not go as Everton FC had probably imagined. In the end, the visitors from the Italian capital won 1-0. Nevertheless, there were numerous loud moments in the stadium – for example, when their own goalkeeper made strong saves or when there were well-executed attacks and narrowly missed chances. The acoustics in the stadium offer the potential for a kind of ‘cauldron’ atmosphere. This was also evident in the subsequent legends match, when the fans who were still present – many had already left the stadium, so that in the end there were perhaps only a high four-digit to low five-digit number of visitors left in the stadium – made their voices heard.

Everton FC has found a long-awaited new home in the Hill Dickinson Stadium. The project had been on the agenda since before the turn of the millennium. Almost 30 years later, it is finally complete. After the final test, the last processes need to be optimised before Brighton & Hove Albion come to Bramley-Moore Dock for the first competitive match on 24 August 2025, when things will really get serious in the west of Liverpool. (stadiaworld, 11.08.2025)