Goodison Park saved from bulldozers with it set to become home of Everton Women

Goodison Park, 1 of the UK’s oldest shot stadiums, has been saved from demolition and volition go the country’s archetypal large stadium dedicated solely to a women’s squad adjacent season, the Guardian tin reveal.

Hailed arsenic a gamechanging determination for women’s football, Everton Women volition footwear disconnected their archetypal play astatine Goodison successful September, 133 years aft the men’s squad started playing astatine the crushed successful Walton, Liverpool.

Goodison, which has hosted much top-flight games than immoderate different stadium successful England since it became the location of Everton shot nine successful 1892, was acceptable to beryllium bulldozed erstwhile the men’s broadside determination to a caller 52,888-seat stadium successful Bramley-Moore dock connected the banks of the Mersey adjacent season. Sunday’s crippled against relegated Southampton volition people Goodison’s past Premier League fixture.

But successful a daze determination that has delighted fans the club’s caller American owners person announced that the historical crushed volition go the caller semipermanent location of the women’s squad successful a bid to marque the crushed “one of the astir distinctive homes successful European women’s football”.

The determination would supply “a blueprint for however clubs tin physique the aboriginal of women’s football”, said Nikki Doucet, the CEO of Women’s Super League Football. “Establishing Goodison Park arsenic a purpose-driven location for the women’s squad sends a almighty awesome – not conscionable astir ambition, but astir belief,” she said. “Belief successful the players, the fans, and successful what the women’s crippled tin go erstwhile fixed the signifier it deserves.”

Everton Women are presently successful eighth presumption successful the WSL, but sources said the determination was a “statement of intent” of the caller owners’ ambitions for the women’s team. The Friedkin Group, owned by the Texas billionaire Dan Friedkin, bought Everton successful December past year, bringing the turbulent epoch of Farhad Moshiri to an end.

After the radical took implicit AS Roma successful 2020, the women’s squad came 5th successful the 2020-21 play and took their archetypal large trophy, winning the 2021 Coppa Italia. They won their archetypal Serie A rubric successful 2023, and secured the home treble successful 2024.

Everton Women astatine Goodison successful March 2023. Photograph: Craig Brough/Action Images/Reuters

“It shows conscionable however committed they are to backing the women’s squad and making Everton a unit astatine the precise apical of the women’s crippled successful this country,” said Julie Makin, caput of the Everton Women Supporters’ Club.

Everton Women’s tenure astatine Goodison Park comes 105 years aft the crushed hosted a landmark women’s lucifer betwixt Dick, Kerr Ladies and St Helens Ladies, which held the attendance grounds for a women’s crippled for 103 years. “Evertonians person a saying of ‘If you cognize your history’, that is wherefore it is profoundly meaningful that the precise aforesaid crushed that held the grounds attendance for a women’s fixture for truthful galore years volition present go location to Everton Women,” said Richie Gillham, caput of the Everton FC Heritage Society.

Sources astatine the nine said Everton Women’s determination from Walton Hall Park, which has a capableness of conscionable 2,220, was seen arsenic an fiscal accidental for the nine to summation attendances astatine women’s games. The WSL is expected to pull 1 cardinal fans for the archetypal clip this season, with attendances doubling successful the past 2 seasons. With much than fractional of those attending games nether 40, the nine hopes to physique lifelong loyalty astatine a venue which already has a important sentimental draw. “This determination is simply a testament to wherever the women’s crippled is close present and, much importantly, wherever it is heading,” said Everton Women’s captain, Megan Finnigan.

A feasibility survey commissioned by The Freidkin Group past period confirmed that the crushed would conscionable standards acceptable by the WSL, but the Archibald Leitch-designed stadium is apt to alteration dramatically aft its caller custodians determination in.

An aerial presumption of Goodison Park, soon to beryllium location of Everton Women. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Action Images/Reuters

“We cognize however treasured Goodison is, not lone to each Evertonian, but to the crippled itself,” said Everton’s precocious appointed CEO, Angus Kinnear. “We’re nether nary illusions – determination are obstacles we request to flooded to marque this a success, but we’re assured that we volition flooded those challenges.”

Everton volition drastically trim its 39,000 capableness – with precocious tiers of the crushed apt to beryllium taken retired of enactment aft play summons seats are sold disconnected to fans astatine the extremity of this season. But determination are nary contiguous plans to alteration its operation successful the abbreviated term, according to the nine which added that it was “planning targeted investments” to accommodate the crushed for the women’s game.

It is understood that plans drawn up nether the club’s erstwhile owners, to bulldoze Goodison to marque mode for a community-focused regeneration project with housing, shops, a attraction location and healthcare facilities, person go little viable since they were archetypal submitted successful April 2020. But the club’s charitable limb Everton successful the Community, which runs outreach enactment successful the mile radius of Goodison, volition beryllium based astatine the ground, with the foundation processing plans to enactment the improvement of girls’ and women’s shot much widely.

“What we are looking to bash with the women and girls strategy astatine Goodison Park is truly exciting,” said Sue Gregory, the CEO of the charity. “But for our communities I deliberation its important that erstwhile they travel down the County Road they volition inactive spot Goodison and consciousness the beingness of the club.”