Everton‘s new Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium: Onana comments on progress and when it will open

While many Premier League sides have moved stadiums or seen their current one redeveloped, Everton are still eagerly waiting for an upgrade on the near 40,000 capacity ground on Merseyside.

With the Toffees finally nearing a move to a new stadium in the coming seasons, we have rounded up all the latest information on the club’s plans.

Summer 2021

Construction work on Everton’s Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium only began last summer after the project didn’t receive planning approval from Liverpool City Council until June.

Multiple surveys had to be taken before any physical work could take place, with inspections and examinations of the location on the docks also needed.

The club have revealed there has been significant progress made since the summer, ‘with non-listed structures demolished, foundations laid and the concrete structures of four corners of the ground starting to emerge’.

Toffees sign stadium deal

In April 2022, Everton confirmed they had signed an agreement with Laing O’Rourke ahead of the final phase of the new stadium development.

The agreement sees Laing O’Rourke complete any outstanding enabling works, the full construction  of the stadium and public realm, and remedial works to the Grade II listed Hydraulic Tower, which will be brought back into public use. 

In a statement made by the club, Everton Chief Executive, Denise Barrett-Baxendale, said: “This is an important agreement at a crucial time for the Club and the stadium project. Our agreement with Laing O’Rourke follows on from last year’s pre-contract services and enabling works agreements and brings clarity on the overall costs of our new stadium.

“We are now able to lock-in construction costs, while also benefiting from Laing O’ Rourke’s economies of scale in what is an ever-fluctuating marketplace.”

New stadium taking shape

Midfielder, Amadou Onana visited the site of the new stadium on November 4 and said: “It looks amazing so I’m very much looking forward to that day. I want to help bring Everton back to where the Club belongs.

“I’m completely blown away [by the stadium]. It looks fantastic. I can’t believe how fast it is growing!”

Everton offered fans an update mid-November, with the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium set to move closer to completion.

The steel roof trusses at Everton Stadium are targeted to be completed by Easter 2023. According to the club, work has begun to hoist the 15 pre-assembled sections of steel, each weighing around 100 tonnes, into place on top of the north and south stands.

Weather permitting, the second lift will take place this week (WC November 21) on the south stand, mirroring the initial installation in the north.

Construction partners Laing O’Rourke have been planning the roof truss operation for two years, and this has been critical to work progressing on schedule.

Principal Engineer, Steve Farden, said: “This is a really big milestone. It was only in May we were talking about the first bit of steel going on site, and now six months later we are talking about the first roof steel.

“It’s just one of many great milestones, but the significance of this is it takes us from a stadium job into a roofing job and the stadium itself, and the stands where people are going to watch the great football, will start to become an internal fit-out job.

“It’s a great project to be a part of. We are delivering a world class stadium with a great team and a good client.”

It is expected that work on the stadium will be complete in 2024.

Euro 2028 bid

The City of Liverpool has been shortlisted as part of the UK and Ireland’s preliminary bid dossier to host UEFA EURO 2028.

14 stadia in famous sporting cities known throughout the world have been shortlisted to host the huge contest. With a planned capacity of 52,888, Everton Stadium has been chosen as the preferred venue for the City of Liverpool.

What else has been said?

In a statement, Denise Barrett-Baxendale, CEO of Everton FC said: “Each passing milestone is a reminder of the scale of the project, its importance to our future, and the commitment from our majority shareholder to deliver the best possible home for our future - a home that will give us the greatest opportunity to push forward and achieve our ambitions both on and off the pitch.

With each week, the stadium becomes less a vision and more a reality. A look at the latest photographs or footage shows how it is coming to life before our eyes.”