Goodison Park
The Grand Old Lady
Location	Goodison Road, Liverpool
Opened	August 24 1892
Owner	Everton F.C.
Operator	Everton F.C.
Surface	Grass ( 112 x 78 yards, 102.4 x 71.3 metres)
Construction cost	£3000[1]
Architect	Kelly Brothers
Former names	Mere Green
Tenants
Everton F.C.
Capacity
40,569

Goodison Park is the home ground of Everton F.C. in Liverpool. It has a total capacity of 40,569 all-seated. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1224x918, 130 KB) Summary author=Biloblue source=self-taken photo at goodison park url=n/a Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU... Location within England Coordinates: , Sovereign state United Kingdom Constituent country England Region North West England Ceremonial county Historic county Merseyside Lancashire Admin HQ Liverpool City Centre Founded 1207 City Status 1880 Government  - Type Metropolitan borough, City  - Governing body Liverpool City Council Area  - Borough & City 43. ... is the 236th day of the year (237th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Everton Football Club is an English football club located in the city of Liverpool. ... This article is about the unit of measure known as the yard. ... metre or meter, see meter (disambiguation) The metre is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units. ... Everton Football Club is an English football club located in the city of Liverpool. ... Location within England Coordinates: , Sovereign state United Kingdom Constituent country England Region North West England Ceremonial county Historic county Merseyside Lancashire Admin HQ Liverpool City Centre Founded 1207 City Status 1880 Government  - Type Metropolitan borough, City  - Governing body Liverpool City Council Area  - Borough & City 43. ...

History

Built in 1892, it is one of the oldest and most historic football grounds in the world and was the first major football stadium in England and is nicknamed the Grand Old Lady. It was the first British sports ground ever to have double-decker stands on all 4 sides and the first to have a 3 tier stand. It was also the first English league ground to have undersoil heating. In 1913 it became the first English football ground to be visited by a reigning monarch, King George V. A player (wearing the red kit) has penetrated the defence (in the white kit) and is taking a shot at goal. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto)1 Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total... George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was the first British monarch belonging to the House of Windsor, which he created from the British branch of the German House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. ...

The first covered dugouts in England were constructed at Goodison, in 1931, following Everton's visit to Pittodrie to play a friendly against Aberdeen, where such dugouts had been constructed at the behest of the Dons' trainer Donald Coleman. Pittodrie is a football stadium situated in the Scottish city of Aberdeen. ... Aberdeen Football Club is a football team from Scotland, who compete in the Scottish Premier League. ... Donald Richard Coleman (19 September 1925 - 14 January 1991) was the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom for Neath from 1964 until his death in 1991. ...

The ground staged 5 matches including a semi-final for the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the final for the 1894 FA Cup and the FA Cup Final replay in 1910. Everton have hosted more international matches than any other English club. It was also, in 1949, the site of England's first ever home defeat by a non-Home Nations country, namely the Republic of Ireland. In 1973 Goodison hosted Northern Ireland's home games against Wales & England. Qualifying countries The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from July 11 to July 30. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... First international  Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Biggest win  Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882) Biggest defeat  Hungary 7 - 1 England (Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954) World Cup Appearances 12 (First in 1950) Best result Winners, 1966 European Championship Appearances 7 (First in...

The greatest match the stadium has ever held, according to voters at Everton's official website, was a European Cup Winners' Cup semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich in 1985. Munich, leading at half time, were defeated by three second half Everton goals from Andy Gray, Graeme Sharp and Trevor Steven. The Cup Winners Cup was a football club competition between the winners of the European domestic cup competitions. ... FC Bayern Munich (German: FC Bayern München) is a German football club based in Munich, the capital of the state of Bavaria. ... Andrew Mullen Gray (born November 30, 1955 in Glasgow) was a Scottish football player and is now a much respected football pundit for Sky Sports. ... Graeme Sharp was born in Glasgow on 16 October 1960. ... Trevor Steven (born Berwick-upon-Tweed, England, September 21, 1963) was a highly-regarded England footballer who shot to fame with the all-conquering Everton side of the 1980s. ...

The ground is situated in a tightly-packed residential district, which has made expansion of the ground extremely difficult, if not impossible. One corner of the ground is actually formed by a church, St Luke the Evangelist's. [1] It has been suggested that Ecclesia (Church) be merged into this article or section. ... Luke the Evangelist (לוקא, Greek: Loukas) is said by tradition to be the author of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, the third and fifth books of the New Testament. ...

The pitch is one of the largest in the Premiership (or the old Football League), most pitches tending towards a de facto standard of 110 x 70 yards. Goodison Park is considerably wider, and slightly longer.[2]

Stands

The ground is made up of 4 stands:

The Park End - capacity 6,000. A single-tier, cantilever stand completed in 1994. At the South end of the ground, behind one goal, the Park Stand backs onto Walton Lane which borders Stanley Park. It was re-constructed in 1995. During the 1960s and 1970s, both ends featured a large semi-circle behind the goals, slightly reminiscent of the old Wembley Stadium. The cantilevered beam (green) projects from its supports (blue), balanced by the structure (red block), which supports the load (red arrow). ... Stanley Park is a 45 hectare park in Liverpool, England, designed by Edward Kemp which opened in 1870. ... Wembley Stadium was a football stadium located in Wembley, London. ...

Bullens Road - capacity 8,067. A two-tier stand designed by the renowned football ground architect Archibald Leitch. On the East side of the ground the stand is divided into the Upper Bullens, Lower Bullens and the Paddock. The South end of the Bullens Road stand houses away supporters. The North corner of the stand is connected to the Gwladys Street Stand. Archibald Leitch (April 27, 1865 – 1939) was a Scottish architect, most famous for his work designing football stadiums throughout the United Kingdom. ...

Gwladys Street End - capacity 10,155. Another two-tier Archibald Leitch stand, divided into Upper Gwladys and Lower Gwladys. Behind the goal at the North end of Goodison Park, the Lower Gwladys can be said to hold the most boisterous and vociferous Evertonians. If Everton win the toss before kick-off they always elect to play towards the Gwladys Street End in the second half. Archibald Leitch (April 27, 1865 – 1939) was a Scottish architect, most famous for his work designing football stadiums throughout the United Kingdom. ...

Main Stand - capacity 16,347 (upper tiers). A three-tier stand, incorporating the Main Stand, Family Enclosure and Top Balcony, as well as what, for such a large ground, is a relatively small number of corporate boxes. The current Main Stand was completed in 1971, at a cost of £1m, following the demolition of the previous 1909 incarnation (another Archibald Leitch design). The Main Stand houses the teams' changing rooms, and the players enter the pitch from a surprisingly discreet tunnel at the halfway line in the Main Stand. Unusually (particularly considering the date of construction) the Top Balcony is accessed by escalator. [3] Archibald Leitch (April 27, 1865 – 1939) was a Scottish architect, most famous for his work designing football stadiums throughout the United Kingdom. ... Escalators at Canary Wharf, London. ...

The future

For more details on this topic, see New Goodison.

Goodison Park became all-seater in 1994 with the construction of the Park end, taking the capacity to just over 40,000, but the ground's confined location made it virtually impossible for further expansion to be considered.[4] New Goodison is the unofficial name given by some fans for the proposed new Everton stadium. ...

In 1996, chairman Peter Johnson announced the club's intention to leave Goodison Park. Although the move was met with opposition from some supporters groups, most notably Goodison Forever-ton (GFE), the club undertook the first of two supporter ballots at the last game of the 1996/97 season to guauge reaction to a proposed move to a site on the Kirkby Golf Course. Although it was much disputed at the time, particularly with the GFE's calls to the club chairman to hold the ballot under the rules of the Electoral Reform Society, the reported 82pc vote in favour of leaving Goodison was generally accepted as being a true barometer of voting supporter sentiments at the time. However, within just six days of the vote, the club chairman stunned most fans by suggesting that Kirkby Golf Course may not be the preferred location of Everton's new ground and that sites as far afield as Cronton and Burtonwood were not being ruled out. Many fans felt duped, however there was very little protest in the summer of 1997 as more pressing football matters overtook supporters' minds, particulalry the search for a new manager. With so much internal unrest dogging the club during the 1997/98 season, when the team only secured its top-flight status on the very last day, there was little focus on the putative ground move issue. However, after 18 months of trying, the GFE finally released an architectural study which they disproved the club's official line, that Goodison Park could not be redeveloped to a capacity in excess of 45,000. Given Everton's precarious standing, though, there was very little appetite for discussions about the ground issue. Indeed, by the time the true picture of Everton's dire financial crisis emerged in November 1998, following the controversial sale of Duncan Ferguson to Newcastle United, which prompted Peter Johnson to sell his stake in the club, it was obvious to all, especially the new owner, Bill Kenwright, that any talk of a ground move would have to be shelved for some considerbale time. Nevertheless, the question over Goodison Park's future still lurked in the background and by early 2000 - four years after the question of moving was first aired - the debate was back in full swing as Everton sought to secure land and planning permission at King's Dock. On November 18th 2000, the club initiated the second ballot of supporters. Again the GFE was the only serious opposition, citing that it would eventually be proved that the club would not be able to afford a stake in the project and calling for Everton to finally bite-the-bullet and start a redevelopment of Goodison which would be completed by 2005 (noting that had such an ambition been undertaken at the first time of asking in 1996 that it would be nearly completed). Again, though, the vote was overwhelmingly in favour of leaving Goodison Park, this time with some 85pc of voting fans declaring their willingness to move. Although Everton were eventually granted preferred bidder status, over twelve other applicants, the deal fell through in 2003 after Everton failed to secure their necessary £30m investment and an alternative bidder was chosen. [5] This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... The Kings Dock was a dock on the River Mersey and part of the Port of Liverpool. ...

In late 2004, representatives from the club met with representatives of their local rivals Liverpool and the Sports Minister to discuss plans to build a joint stadium, Stanley Park. However, this proposal was rejected by both clubs. This leaves Everton with the decision to either build a new stadium on their own, or try and rebuild Goodison Park. As of June 2006, Everton have received at least three offers from Knowsley and Sefton to relocate a few miles outside Liverpool. They are currently in talks with the supermarket Tesco to make a joint bid to build a stadium complex in Knowsley. However, this has met opposition from many supporters who are against moving the oldest football club in Liverpool outside the city's boundarys. Supporters opposed to the plans have since formed the KEIOC (Keep Everton In Our City) lobby group. Liverpool Football Club are an English professional football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside, who play in the Premier League; they are historically the most successful club in the history of English football, having won more trophies than any other English club. ... The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport is a UK cabinet position with responsibility for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. ... Stanley Park Stadium is a proposed title of the planned football stadium to be built in Stanley Park, Liverpool, England. ... Knowsley is a metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. ... See Sefton, New South Wales for the suburb of Sydney, Australia. ...

Details

Records

Record Attendance: 78,299 v Liverpool, September 18, 1948 (Old Division One) Liverpool Football Club are an English professional football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside, who play in the Premier League; they are historically the most successful club in the history of English football, having won more trophies than any other English club. ... September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ...

Average attendances