Top facts about Goodison Park, a stadium with a church within

Goodison Park is a football stadium in Liverpool, England, located in the Walton neighborhood.

Since its construction in 1892, it has served as the home stadium of Premier League team Everton F.C. It has a total seating capacity of 39,414 and is located in a residential neighborhood 2 miles (3 kilometers) north of Liverpool city centre.

Goodison Park has hosted more top-flight games than any other stadium in England, despite the fact that

has only been out of the top league for four seasons (they were relegated in 1930 and 1951).

The stadium has also hosted an FA Cup Final as well as other international matches, including a semi-final match in the 1966 World Cup.

A complete collection of top facts about Goodison Park, a stadium with a church within

In this article of

top facts about Goodison Park

, we will try to provide you with a complete description of the stadium as well as its history as briefly as possible due to the limitation of space and time.

We will also talk about the other uses of this stadium and the records that have taken place in this ground of the toffees. Now without further ado let us hop into the article and learn more about this amazing stadium.

Goodison Park history

Now let us read the story of this stadium from the start in this section of top facts about Goodison Park.

Everton Football Club's founding father and previous chairman was George Mahon.

George Mahon suggested that Everton move to a different site. Because the stadium was erected alongside Goodison Road for most of its length, it was given the name Goodison Park.

The road was named after George Goodison, a civil engineer who presented a sewage report to the Walton Local Board in the mid-1800s before becoming a landowner in the area.

The building at Goodison Park was constructed in phases. In the summer of 1895, a new Bullens Road stand was erected, and the existing Goodison Road stand was roofed, but only after five directors, including Chairman George Mahon, left due to "severe administrative difficulties," as reported in the club minutes.

The double-decker Goodison Avenue Stand, located behind the goal at the south end of the pitch, was completed in 1906. Henry Hartley, a Liverpool architect who went on to lead the Liverpool Architectural Society a year later, constructed the stand.

The club minutes from the time reflect that Hartley was dissatisfied with various parts of the stand and that the goal line had to be relocated seven meters north, towards Gwladys Street, due to poor sightlines.

He protested in January 1908 that his fees had not been paid and that the expense for the stand was close to £13,000. On the upper deck, there were 2,657 seats with a terrace below.

Early developments

The Goodison Road Stand was designed by Archibald Leitch and built-in 1909.

Archibald Leitch designed the two-tier steel frame and timber floor Bullens Road Stand, which was completed in 1926. The Paddock was a portion of the ground where the upper tier was sat, with terracing below. Until 1963, when the rear of the Paddock was filled and an overhanging canopy was constructed, few improvements were done.

In 1931, Everton built covered dugouts. In 1938, another Archibald Leitch stand was added at the Gwladys Street end of the pitch, making it a completely two-tiered affair. The £50,000 stand was delayed because an elderly man refused to move from his soon-to-be-demolished home.

The Gwladys Street Stand was bombed in 1940, during the Second World War. The bomb had hit exactly on Gwladys Street, injuring several people in the area. The bomb splinter damage to the stand's masonry is still visible.

The restoration cost £5,000, which was covered by the War Damage Commission. Everton was the first club in

to have a scoreboard built. During the 1969–70 season, the Goodison Road Stand was largely destroyed and rebuilt, creating spectacular pictures of the old and new stands side by side.

The new stand, which cost £1 million to build, opened in 1971. The 500 and 300 member clubs, as well as an escalator to the top balcony, were all placed in the new stand. However, not everyone at the time believed the update was essential.

Now that we have talked about the past let us talk about the future in the next section of

top facts about Goodison Park

.

Future plans

Following the redevelopment of Goodison Park to an all-seater stadium in 1994, the club has been looking for a new home since 1996, when then-chairman Peter Johnson revealed the club's ambition to build a new 60,000-seat stadium. No English league team had a stadium with such a large capacity at the time.

Following Farhad Moshiri's involvement in the club, the potential of a new stadium was once again discussed in 2016, with two alternatives being proposed. The chosen alternative was to revive the notion of a riverfront stadium, this time in collaboration with the Peel Group and utilizing the Clarence Dock as a location.

The other alternative was a location in Gillmoss called Stonebridge Cross, which was viewed as more feasibly achievable in some parts. Bramley-Moore Dock was later confirmed as the dockside location choice.

Everton announced intentions to create a new structure between the Park End stand and Walton Lane in August 2010, which is presently being utilized as a hospitality marquee. Manchester-based Formroom Architects created the £9 million project. The club filed a planning application to Liverpool City Council in September 2010.

The proposed construction is a four-story structure with a retail store, ticket office, offices, conference and catering facilities, and a museum on the first floor. The project has already been postponed twice and is now on hold.

Goodison Park stands

This structure consists of different stands and facilities, the list of which can be seen in the following section of

top facts about Goodison Park

.

Goodison Park has a total seating capacity of 39,572 and is divided into four stands: the Goodison Road Stand, Gwladys Street Stand, Bullens Road Stand, and Park End Stand.

Goodison Road stand

The first stand that we will talk about in the top facts about Goodison park is the Goodison Road stand.

Built in phases from 1969 to 1971 to replace a massive double-decker stand erected by Archibald Leitch in 1909. The Goodison Road Structure is a two-tiered bottom deck of a double-decker stand. Each level is given its own title.

The Main Stand, located in the center of the deck, is flanked by the Family Enclosure, a seating portion. Prior to the introduction of all-seater stadiums, the Enclosure was terracing. The Top Balcony is the stadium's highest point. In 1987, the whole stand was made seating, and it currently has a capacity of 12,664.

Because of the non-square structure of the Goodison Park location, the rear wall of the stand cuts into the stand. The meeting and hospitality facilities are also located at the Goodison Road Stand. On non-match days, Goodison Park hosts a variety of conferences, weddings, meetings, and celebrations.

Other parts

The Bullens Road stand is separated into three sections on the east side of the ground: Upper Bullens, Lower Bullens, and The Paddock. Away fans are housed in the back of the south end of the stadium.

The Gwladys Street Stand is attached to the north corner of the stand. The stand's current capacity is 10,546 people. Bullens Road is the inspiration for the name of the stand. Archibald Leitch's unusual truss design may be seen across the Upper Bullens.

The Gwladys Street Stand is separated into Upper Gwladys and Lower Gwladys behind the goal at Goodison Park's north end. The "Popular End" is where the rowdiest and noisy home supporters congregate. It's dubbed "The Street End" by locals.

If Everton wins the toss before kick-off, the captain usually chooses to play the second half near the Gwladys Street End. The 10,611-seater stand is the inspiration for Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame. The Howard Kendall Gwladys Street End was renamed in July 2016 to honor Everton's most successful manager.

Sir Philip Carter Park Stand

The Park End Stand, located behind one goal at the south end of the stadium, backs onto Walton Lane, which borders Stanley Park.

The stand was previously known as the Stanley Park End, but it is now just known as the Park End. The single-tiered stand defied Goodison Park's multi-tiered history. At Goodison Park, the Park End has the smallest capacity.

The present form of the stand, with a capacity of 5,750, was inaugurated on September 17, 1994. David Hunt, a Member of Parliament, gave the inaugural speech. Fans were able to see matches while the building was being built by climbing trees in Stanley Park.

The away supporters were housed in the stand in the late 1970s and 1980s. Previously, it was only available to local fans. The lowest tier of the original stand featured terracing, which was blocked off by the turn of the 1980s due to the terracing stairs being made of wood, which posed a fire threat.

One of the last remaining parts at a Premiership stadium was the front concrete terracing. During the 1960s and 1970s, there was a huge arc behind the goals on both ends of the field.

Because the audience had to be a certain distance away from the goals for the 1966 World Cup, this was constructed as a necessity. The Sir Philip Carter Park Stand was renamed in July 2016 to honor the club's previous Chairman.

St Luke's Church

Here is a very interesting fact of top facts about Goodison Park. Goodison Park is remarkable in that between the Goodison Road Stand and the Gwladys Street Stand, barely yards from the corner flag, a church, St Luke's, protrudes into the ground.

Everton does not play early kick-offs on Sundays in order to allow for religious activities. The church is associated with the football club, and when Goodison Park was created, a wooden church building was in existence. Former Everton players' funerals have been conducted there, including Brian Harris.

The church can be viewed from Park End and Bullens Road and has been used as a background for live television matches in the past. The Everton Former Players' Foundation, of which the Reverend is a trustee, is also housed there.

Goodison Park other uses

This field has been utilized for other purposes than football and this portion of top facts about Goodison park is all about that.

When King George V and Queen Mary visited Goodison Park on July 11, 1913, it became the first English football venue to be visited by a reigning monarch. On the same day, the royals who were in attendance inaugurated Gladstone Dock. To commemorate the event, a tablet was unveiled in the Main Stand. During WWI, Goodison was a popular location for Territorial Army training drills.

In front of 80,000 people, George VI and Queen Elizabeth presented new colors to the 5th Battalion the King's Regiment (Liverpool), and the Liverpool Scottish (Queens Own Cameron Highlanders) on May 19, 1938, at Goodison Park.

Goodison Park was home to an American military baseball league during WWII. A baseball game between two Army Air Force nines, which drew over 8,000 spectators, also collected over $3,000 for the British Red Cross and St. John's Ambulance funds.

The last two baseball clubs to play at Goodison Park were the Liverpool Trojans and the Formby Cardinals. This happened in the 1948 Lancashire Cup Final.

Goodison Park is a popular wedding location. More than 800 supporters' ashes have been interred at Goodison Park, and the club has had to turn down more requests since 2004 due to a lack of space.

In the 2015 film Creed, the boxing battle between "Pretty" Ricky Conlan and Adonis Creed took place at Goodison Park. When Bellew fought Ilunga Makabu on May 29, 2016, to earn the vacant WBC Cruiserweight championship, the stadium staged the first outdoor boxing event in Liverpool since 1949.

Goodison Park records

What records have taken place in this amazing stadium? Let us learn in this section of top facts about Goodison park.

Everton has played in more Premier League games than any other English team, with eight more seasons than second-placed Aston Villa. Everton has played at Goodison Park for all but four of their 106 league seasons, earning it the distinction of hosting the most top-flight games in England.

The only English club venue to

is Goodison Park. Goodison Park maintained the record highest Sunday attendance on a Football League venue until the opening of Old Trafford in 1996. (53,509 v West Bromwich Albion, FA Cup, 1974).

Between 4 October 1930 and 4 April 1931, Everton won 15 consecutive home league games. Everton scored 84 goals at Goodison Park during the 1931–32 season, making it the highest goals scored at home in a league season.

Everton scored in 47 straight games between April 23, 1984, and September 2, 1986, winning 36 and drawing seven, scoring 123 goals and allowing 38. Graeme Sharp, a Scottish striker, was responsible for 32 of the goals.

On December 30, 1893, Jack Southworth set the record for most goals scored in a single game at Goodison Park, scoring six against

.

The most goals scored in a game at Goodison Park are 12, which were scored in two Everton games: 9–3 against Sheffield Wednesday on October 17, 1931, and 8–4 against Plymouth Argyle on February 27, 1954.

Goodison Park transport

For the last part of the top facts about Goodison Park, we will talk about the transportation system which would assist the fans to get to the stadium.

Two miles (3 kilometers) north of Liverpool City Centre is Goodison Park. The Lime Street train station in Liverpool is the closest mainline station. Kirkdale railway station, on the Merseyrail Northern Line, is the closest station to the stadium, at slightly over half a mile (800 m).

On match days, the "SoccerBus" shuttle bus service runs frequently from Sandhills railway station. Sandhills was renovated for £6 million in 2007 to encourage people to utilize the rail service.

Until 1948, the Walton and Anfield railway station, which was located on Walton Lane—the same road that the Park End backs onto—was the closest station to Goodison Park. Even though Everton has moved away from Goodison Park, there was speculation that the station may be reopened if the freight-only Canada Dock Branch railway started running passenger trains again.

On-site parking (limited to 230 places) is available for fans, while parking on the streets surrounding the stadium is restricted to homeowners with permits. Liverpool City Council manages the Car Parking resident parking service.

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