Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium cost £800m. It is an arena fit for the future

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The plume of blue smoke could be seen from across the River Mersey. It came from the top of Everton’s new £800million Hill Dickinson Stadium, after the club had positioned pyrotechnics on the roof, and temporarily submerged fans in the two-tier South Stand across the other side of the pitch.

In this, the city of Liverpool’s new waterfront development, a sea of around 50,000 blue flags waved in unison, christening the occasion: Everton’s first Premier League at the state-of-the-art arena.

The noise that greeted both sets of players — those in Everton blue and Brighton & Hove Albion purple — was deafening, registering around 106 decibels. But it was not the loudest of the afternoon during a 2-0 win for David Moyes’ side.

That was reserved for Iliman Ndiaye’s 23rd-minute opener. The Senegal forward scored the final goal at Goodison Park at the end of last season as Everton bid an emotional farewell to their home of 133 years. Now he has another milestone attached to his name: becoming the first scorer at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

And for U.S. readers:

The goal was a sprinkle of stardust; the kind an arena of this kind deserves and craves. But not from him. It was created by new loan signing Jack Grealish, brought in from Manchester City to lead Everton’s new era and add creativity to a side that has been goal-shy in the extreme in recent seasons.

Grealish lapped up the occasion with two assists — as many as he had provided in the last two seasons at City — and a starring role. “As soon as I spoke to David Moyes on FaceTime, I knew this was a place I wanted to come,” Grealish said after the match. “Today has proved why.”

For Ndiaye’s opener, the winger shimmied, finding space on the outside of his marker, before laying on an inch-perfect cross begging to be converted at the back post. The decibel levels rose to 111, just as intended. Everton’s substitutes, warming up in the nearby corner, raced to embrace the two protagonists of this historic goal.


Ndiaye celebrates with Grealish (Clive Mason/Getty Images)

American architect Dan Meis, pitchside to witness his vision come to life, had been mindful of recreating the atmosphere from Goodison Park. The 52,769-capacity stadium is vastly more modern than its predecessor, but it has very much been built to keep the sound in.

Meis, based out of Los Angeles and New York, designed the steep South Stand to have a 34.99° gradient. The legal limit is 35°. The stadium’s metallic roof is meant to reverberate sound.


Everton’s new home looked a picture on its Premier League bow (Michael Regan/Getty Images)

New beginnings are not always painless. It has taken a while for Everton’s Premier League rivals, such as Arsenal, Manchester City and West Ham United, to adapt to different surroundings. West Ham, it could be argued, never have. And while there will be inevitable teething problems — on and off the pitch — for Moyes, his side and supporters, a 2-0 victory in the opening Premier League home game can only help the process.

Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium is forward-thinking and rooted in the memories of the past. The 17,000 fan plaza, housed in front of the East Stand, has become an early meeting place for supporters. The early evidence is fans will gather here hours before kick-off in a way they never did — or were able to do — at Goodison.

They poured themselves pints of beer from new machines and craned to get a look at the 30,000 commemorative stones on Everton Way. Some gorged on blue doughnuts. Bits of the original dock wall that encloses the site and historic railway lines have been preserved to honour Liverpool’s maritime heritage.


The stadium is on the banks of the River Mersey (Michael Regan/Getty Images)

There has been an early focus from club and supporters on preserving the best of Goodison too. 50,000 blue flags, commemorating the occasion, were produced by Everton in conjunction with supporters group The 1878s, who coordinated fan displays before kick-off. Glossy videos played on big screens, remembering the past. The music was cinematic, akin to one of the well-renowned composer Hans Zimmer’s scores.

An effort was made to make the new stadium more homely for the Everton players and fans. Concourses featured images of Everton icons, while the club’s Latin motto Nil Satis Nisi Optimum was painted outside the tunnel for when the teams walk out.

Some of the best moments were organic, but not all. The roar that accompanied Grealish’s name when the teams were read out just before kick-off; Ndiaye’s goal; Jordan Pickford’s second-half penalty save from Danny Welbeck. A group of fans came dressed as cones, a playful reference to when one Liverpool fan mocked the lack of progress on site in the early part of the development. They are the ones joking now.

Everton played There She Goes by The La’s before and after the match, just as they had done in that final Goodison game. Once again, it struck the right emotional chord. The idea, even in this futuristic new home, is to take the best of the old with them and build on that.

There is still much work to do on and off the pitch. For all their promise, Everton also rode their luck at times in this opening win and were indebted to the brilliance of Pickford and Grealish. New signings are needed before next Monday’s deadline if they are to push on. Staff see this first season at the new stadium as a learning process.


The Athletic’s view at Hill Dickinson Stadium (Michael Regan/Getty Images)

It may not always go as well as this. In many ways, this was pretty much the ideal day after the timid 1-0 defeat to promoted Leeds United on Monday. There will inevitably be ups and downs in the journey as the club look to make the most of this new chapter.

But this was a powerful, emotional occasion and the best possible start for Everton at their new home. It suggested that even better days could be ahead.

(Top photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)




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