The Political Economy of Football V2

What does one do with the site of an old stadium when a club moves to a new one?  Very often the stadium is demolished and houses or a commercial development takes its place with perhaps a commemorative plaque or a street named after the ground.  The trajectory at Everton has been different. Today Everton Women play their first game at Goodison Park since it became their permanent home, and the famous stadium symbolises their exciting yet uncertain future. Goodison has transformed since Everton’s men side departed last May. Banners dedicated to Everton Women adorn the Bullens Road stand. The tunnel has pink-tinted wallpaper featuring phrases such as “A New Era” and “A History We Own”. Around the venue, displays referencing Everton Women’s past, present and future are conspicuous. However, the stadium is unfinished. Thousands of seats are missing, with the upper tier of the Goodison Road Stand stripped to the bone. Everton are acutely aware that the 133-year-old ground ha...

Everton have launched a major public consultation on their plans to leave their historic home at Goodison Park and build a new stadium at Bramley-Moore dock: Stadium move The club intends to submit a detailed planning application for the stadium in the second half of 2019 and, at the same time, an outline planning application for the redevelopment of Goodison Park on which there will be a separate consultation. Analysts see the move to the new stadium as key to the club's future progress. In the past a proposed move outside the city attracted widespread opposition.