Having personally attended the opening Premier League game at their new home on Sunday, I'm certain Everton possess the BEST stadium in England.
Here is my report…
Match Information
- Everton 2-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
- When: Sunday 24th August 2025
- Kick-off: 2pm
- Where: Hill Dickinson Stadium, Regent Road, Liverpool, L3 0BW
- Competition: Premier League
- Attendance: 51,759
I first went to Everton’s lovely old ground at Goodison Park on Saturday 22nd December 1979 on my way to visiting to all 92 League grounds when I was still at school. On that occasion, I witnessed a 2-1 home defeat against Manchester City (attendance 26,308).
I returned to Goodison many times over the years and have always admired the passionate loyalty of the Evertonian crowd.
And now they’ve moved to Hill Dickinson Stadium, it was time for me to re-complete the fabled 92. I felt there was no better match to attend than the opening Premier League fixture at this brand new venue.
Ground Description
Entry to the £800 million waterfront site is through designated gates in the tall wall along Regent Road.
It leads on to a thriving fan plaza for up to 17,000 people with refreshment outlets and a live band playing. From there, I took the escalators up to my seat on Level Three of the West Stand.
The steep rake means everyone enjoys fantastic views of unfolding matchday action. This revolutionary stadium blueprint lends itself to tremendous noise. Some safe standing areas are also included.
Indeed, a comprehensive pre-match media briefing pack distributed by Everton stated:
“Supporters made clear the stadium should retain the Goodison atmosphere and give Everton home advantage. Supporters will be as close to the pitch as legally possible through stands built with the steepest rake legally possible. The rake of the South Stand is 34.99° - the legal limit is 35°. Supporters are sat closer together in a similar way traditional football stadiums are laid out to help generate atmosphere – more modern stadia are often criticised for too much space between seats. Acoustics of the roof are designed to allow sounds to reverberate around the stadium.”
One of the most interesting facts outlined was that the 52,769 capacity arena is positioned on reclaimed land adjoining the banks of the River Mersey…
“The infill of Bramley-Moore Dock took three months and involved a dredger painstakingly making 130 round-trips, over 20 miles out into the Irish Sea on a 24/7 operation. The dredger collected 480,000 cubic metres of sand from the sea bed and fluidised it in order to pump it into the semi-derelict dock. The stadium will be the first major Liverpool landmark that visitors arriving via cruise ships will see.”
Programme Details
A brilliant 116 page bumper A4-sized publication to suitably mark the historic occasion. On sale at £10.
I particularly liked articles conveying memories of Goodison Park plus evocative colour photos showing how the new stadium was constructed.
The Match
The teams emerged just before kick-off to Everton’s traditional Z-Cars theme music. It prompted a huge roar of encouragement from Evertonian fans waving thousands of complimentary club flags which were left attached to their seats.
On 23 minutes, the home side forged ahead when Toffees full debutant Jack Grealish crossed out on the left and Iliman Ndiaye volleyed in at close range. An excellent public address announcement declared:
“Ladies and gentlemen…History has been made at the Hill Dickinson Stadium with the first Premier League goal…And it’s an Everton goal…Scored by Iliman Ndiaye!”
All football betting at this stage would have favoured the hosts. Even so, Brighton rattled the woodwork twice in the first half courtesy of Kaoru Mitoma and Jan Paul van Hecke.
Nevertheless, James Garner’s fierce 25 yard low strike doubled Everton’s lead in the 52nd minute. Then with 16 minutes to go, a handball by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall meant Brighton were awarded a penalty bringing a swing in ongoing betting patterns.
However, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford expertly saved Danny Welbeck’s daisy-cutting spot kick down to his left thereby sealing his clean sheet. Overall an exciting game and a real pleasure for me to be present at a world class facility.
The people
My thanks to Everton officials Darren Bentley, Rob Urbani and Darren Griffiths for great assistance in compiling this article.
*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Tony Incenzo*
