EVERTON FC: GOODISON PARK - THE HISTORY

THE HISTORY OF GOODISON PARK, THE HOME OF EVERTON FC SINCE 1892

Goodison Park officially opened on 24 August 1892 with an athletics event. The first match, between Everton and Bolton (4-2), was played 9 days later. Everton had previously played at Anfield, but a dispute over the rent drove them out.

Goodison Park initially consisted of one covered seating stand, two uncovered terraces, and a running track. In 1894, it hosted its first FA Cup final. Notts County beat Bolton in front of a 37,000 crowd.

The stadium got quickly developed in the early 20th century, first with the construction of a double-decker stand at the Park End in 1907, and next with the large Goodison Road Stand in 1909. The running track was also removed.

The new double-decker Goodison Road Stand had been designed by renowned architect Archibald Leitch. At that time, Goodison Park was considered the best ground in Britain.

Archibald Leitch also designed the next two new stands of the ground. The first was the new Bullens Road Stand in 1926 and the second the new Gwladys Street End in 1938. All stands were two-tiered.

On the 18th of December 1948, Goodison Park recorded its highest attendance in a match between Everton and Liverpool. A total of 78,299 supporters visited the match.

Goodison Park was one of the playing venues of the 1966 World Cup, during which it hosted three group matches, the quarter-final between Portugal and North Korea (5-3), and the semi-final between Germany and the Soviet Union (2-1).

The stadium remained largely unchanged until in 1971 a new three-tiered main stand was built in place of the Goodison Road Stand. At that time the stadium could hold about 55,000 fans, slightly less than half seated.

In the 1990s, following the Hillsborough disaster and Taylor report, Goodison Park got converted into an all-seater stadium, which reduced capacity significantly. In 1994, the last major development took place when a new stand got built at the Park End.

In the last fifteen years, Everton have been actively pursuing a move to a new stadium, first at King’s Dock and later in the Kirkby area, but both times plans fell through. After a break during which efforts were paused, the club recently picked up their pursuit for a new stadium again, focusing on a site at Liverpool’s waterfront north of the centre and one in the Croxteth suburb in the north-east of the city.

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