Goodison Park facts for kids
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"The Grand Old Lady"
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| Former names | Mere Green Field |
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| Location | Goodison Road Walton, Liverpool, England |
| Public transit |   Kirkdale |
| Owner | Everton |
| Operator | Everton |
| Capacity | 39,414 |
| Record attendance | 78,299 (Everton vs Liverpool, 18 September 1948) |
| Field size | 100.49 by 68 metres (109.9 yd × 74.4 yd) |
| Surface | GrassMaster |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 24 August 1892 |
| Construction cost | £3,000 |
| Architect | Kelly Brothers Henry Hartley Archibald Leitch |
| Tenants | |
| Everton (1892–2025) Everton Women (2025–present)
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Goodison Park is a famous football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, England. It is the home of Women’s Super League club Everton. For many years, from 1892 to 2025, it was the home of Everton’s men’s team. The stadium is about 2 miles (3 km) north of the city centre. It has seats for 39,414 fans.
Goodison Park has hosted more top-level football games than any other stadium in England. It also held an FA Cup Final and many international matches. One of these was a semi-final game in the 1966 World Cup.
Everton's men's team moved to a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock at the end of the 2024–25 season. Goodison Park was originally going to be taken down. However, after Everton got new owners in 2024, they decided to save the stadium for community use. They looked into whether it could become the home for the club's women's team.
On May 13, 2025, Everton announced that Goodison Park would become the permanent home for their women's team. This started with the 2025–26 season. This makes Goodison Park the biggest stadium in the UK used only for women's football. It is also the largest dedicated women's sports venue in the world.
Contents
Goodison Park's Story: A Look Back
Before Goodison Park: Everton's Early Homes
Everton Football Club started playing on an open field in Stanley Park. Their first official game as "Everton" was in December 1879. Later, they moved to Priory Road for two years. The crowds grew too big and noisy for the owner.
In 1884, Everton moved to Anfield Road. Here, proper covered stands were built. The club became professional and joined the Football League. They won their first championship there in 1890–91. Anfield's capacity grew to over 20,000. Everton was also the first club to use goalnets in professional football.
A disagreement happened in the 1890s. It was about how the club should be run. John Houlding, who owned most of Anfield and was Everton's Chairman, wanted the club to pay more rent. He also wanted Everton to sell only his brewery products. These disagreements caused a big split.
Everton decided to leave Anfield. John Houlding was left with an empty stadium. So, he started his own football club, Liverpool, to play there.
Building Goodison Park: A New Beginning
After leaving Anfield, Everton needed a new home. On January 25, 1892, a special meeting was held. A club member named George Mahon suggested moving to a field called 'Mere Green Field' in Walton. This is where Goodison Park stands today.
The stadium was named Goodison Park because it was built next to Goodison Road. This road was named after George Goodison, a civil engineer.
The Mere Green field needed a lot of work. It was leveled, a drainage system was put in, and grass was laid. This cost a lot of money. Local builders, Kelly Brothers, built two uncovered stands for 4,000 fans each. They also built a covered stand for 3,000 fans. The total cost for these stands was £1,640.
Dr. James Baxter from the Everton committee gave a £1,000 loan to help build Goodison Park. It was England's first stadium built just for football, with stands on three sides.
Goodison Park officially opened on August 24, 1892. Lord Kinnaird and Frederick Wall from the Football Association were there. No football was played that day. Instead, 12,000 people watched athletics, listened to music, and saw fireworks.
The first football match at Goodison Park was on September 2, 1892. Everton played against Bolton Wanderers and won 4–2. The first league game was on September 3, 1892, against Nottingham Forest. It was a 2–2 draw.
In 1895, the club bought Goodison Park. It cost less than Anfield and had more land. By this time, Goodison Park was part of the City of Liverpool.
In 1999, a journalist called the stadium "The Grand Old Lady." This nickname stuck because of its long history.
Goodison Park's Changing Look: Stadium Upgrades
Goodison Park grew over time. In 1895, a new Bullens Road stand was built. The original Goodison Road stand got a roof. In 1906, the Goodison Avenue Stand was added behind one goal.
Archibald Leitch, a famous stadium architect, designed the Goodison Road Stand in 1909. It was so big that some called it the "Mauretania Stand," after a huge ship from Liverpool. Leitch also designed the two-tier Bullens Road Stand, finished in 1926. This stand has unique balcony trusses that are still there today.
In 1931, Everton built covered dugouts. They were the first in England, inspired by a visit to another stadium.
In 1938, another stand designed by Archibald Leitch was built at the Gwladys Street end. During World War II in 1940, the Gwladys Street Stand was damaged by a bomb. The repairs cost £5,000.
The first floodlit match at Goodison Park was on October 9, 1957. Everton played Liverpool under bright new lights. Four tall pylons with 36 lamps each lit up the pitch.
In 1958, Goodison Park got the first undersoil heating system in English football. This helped melt frost and snow.
The Goodison Road Stand was partly rebuilt between 1969 and 1971. It cost £1 million and included an escalator to the highest part of the stadium.
After the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, a report called the Taylor Report said all top-level English football grounds needed to have seats only. Goodison Park had standing areas, so it had to change. The Park End stand was completely rebuilt in 1994 with a new single-tier stand.
Goodison Park's New Role: Home of Everton Women
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For many years, Everton's men's team planned to move to a new stadium. In February 2021, the Liverpool City Council approved plans to redevelop the Goodison Park site. This plan included homes and offices.
However, on May 13, 2025, Everton announced a new plan. Instead of being redeveloped, Goodison Park would become the permanent home for their women's team. This started with the 2025–26 season. The stadium's capacity was reduced for this new role. Some upper parts of the stands are now covered with Everton Women's team branding. They will only be opened for big games.
The Everton men's team played their last game at Goodison Park on May 18, 2025. They won 2–0 against Southampton. The Everton women's team played their first match at Goodison against Tottenham on September 14, 2025.
Goodison Park's Layout: The Stands
Goodison Park has seats for 39,572 people. It has four main stands: the Goodison Road Stand, Gwladys Street Stand, Bullens Road Stand, and the Park End Stand.
Goodison Road Stand
This stand was built between 1969 and 1971. It has two main levels. The middle level is called the Main Stand, and in front of it is the Family Enclosure. The Top Balcony is the highest part of the stadium. This stand became all-seater in 1987 and can hold 12,664 fans. It also has conference and hospitality rooms.
Bullens Road Stand
On the east side of the stadium, the Bullens Road stand has the Upper Bullens, Lower Bullens, and The Paddock sections. Away team supporters sit in the back of the south end of this stand. The stand can hold 10,546 people. It is known for its special Archibald Leitch truss design.
Howard Kendall Gwladys Street End
This stand is behind the goal at the north end of Goodison Park. It's known as the "Popular End" because it holds the loudest home fans. It has an Upper Gwladys and Lower Gwladys section. The stand can hold 10,611 fans. In July 2016, it was renamed the Howard Kendall Gwladys Street End, honoring Everton's most successful manager.
Sir Philip Carter Park Stand
This stand is at the south end of the stadium, behind the other goal. It's often called the Park End. It's the smallest stand at Goodison Park, with a capacity of 5,750. It was opened in its current form in 1994. In the past, fans would even climb trees in nearby Stanley Park to watch games when this stand was being built! In July 2016, it was renamed the Sir Philip Carter Park Stand, honoring a former club chairman.
St Luke's Church: A Unique Neighbor
Goodison Park is special because a church, St Luke's, is right next to the stadium. It sits between the Goodison Road Stand and the Gwladys Street Stand, very close to the corner flag. Everton does not play early Sunday games so that church services can take place. The church has been a backdrop for many televised matches.
Over the years, the church has limited how much the stadium could grow. Everton once tried to pay to move it to get more space.
Getting to Goodison Park: Transport
Goodison Park is about two miles (3 km) north of Liverpool City Centre. Liverpool Lime Street railway station is the main train station nearby. The closest local train station is Kirkdale railway station on the Merseyrail Northern Line, about half a mile (800 m) away. On match days, there's a special "SoccerBus" from Sandhills railway station.
Parking around the stadium is mostly for residents with permits.
Goodison Park's Amazing Records
Goodison Park has hosted more top-level football games than any other stadium in England. Everton played almost all of their 122 top-tier league seasons here. It's the only English club stadium to host a FIFA World Cup semi-final.
Everton won 15 home league games in a row between October 1930 and April 1931. In the 1931–32 season, Everton scored 84 goals at home, which is the most in a league season.
Jack Southworth holds the record for most goals in one game at Goodison Park. He scored six goals against West Bromwich Albion in December 1893.
The most goals scored in a single game at Goodison Park is 12. This happened twice: Everton beat Sheffield Wednesday 9–3 in 1931, and Plymouth Argyle 8–4 in 1954.
Goodison Park: Fan Attendance
Goodison Park has always had high attendance numbers. The highest average attendance was 51,603 in the 1962–63 season. The lowest was 13,230 in its first year, 1892–93.
Here are the five highest attendances for Everton at Goodison Park:
| Date | Competition | Opposition | Attendance |
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| 18 September 1948 | Division One | Liverpool | 78,299 |
| 14 February 1953 | FA Cup | Manchester United | 77,920 |
| 28 August 1954 | Division One | Preston North End | 76,839 |
| 29 January 1958 | FA Cup | Blackburn Rovers | 75,818 |
| 27 December 1954 | Division One | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 75,322 |
Goodison Park: More Than Just Football
Goodison Park has hosted many different events, not just football games.
Goodison Park as a Football Host
Goodison Park was the first Football League ground to host an FA Cup Final in 1894. Notts County beat Bolton Wanderers in front of 37,000 fans. It also hosted an FA Cup final replay in 1910.
On December 27, 1920, Goodison Park held a match between Dick, Kerr's Ladies and St Helens Ladies. About 53,000 people watched, raising over £3,000 for charity.
The stadium hosted five matches during the 1966 FIFA World Cup. This included a quarter-final and a semi-final game. Portugal's Eusébio, who won the Golden Boot, scored six of his nine goals at Goodison Park. He later said, "Goodison Park is for me the best stadium in my life."
1966 FIFA World Cup Matches at Goodison Park
| 12 July 1966 | Brazil  |
2–0 |  Bulgaria |
Goodison Park, Liverpool |
| 19:30 | Pelé  15'Garrincha 63' |
Attendance: 48,000 Referee: Kurt Tschenscher (West Germany) |
| 15 July 1966 | Hungary  |
3–1 | Brazil |
Goodison Park, Liverpool |
| 19:30 | Bene 2' Farkas 64'Mészöly 73' (pen.) |
Tostão 14' |
Attendance: 52,000 Referee: Ken Dagnall (England) |
| 19 July 1966 | Portugal  |
3–1 | Brazil |
Goodison Park, Liverpool |
| 19:30 | Simöes 15' Eusébio 27', 85' |
Rildo 70' |
Attendance: 62,000 Referee: George McCabe (England) |
| 23 July 1966 | Portugal |
5–3 |  North Korea |
Goodison Park, Liverpool |
| 15:00 | Eusébio 27', 43' (pen.), 56', 59' (pen.) José Augusto 80' |
Pak Seung-Zin 1' Lee Dong-Woon 22'Yang Sung-Kook 25' |
Attendance: 51,780 Referee: Menachem Ashkenazi (Israel) |
| 25 July 1966 | West Germany  |
2–1 |  Soviet Union |
Goodison Park, Liverpool |
| 19:30 | Haller 42' Beckenbauer 67' |
Porkujan 88' |
Attendance: 39,840 Referee: Concetto Lo Bello (Italy) |
Other Exciting Events at Goodison Park
On July 11, 1913, Goodison Park became the first English football ground to be visited by a king. King George V and Queen Mary attended. In 1938, George VI and Queen Elizabeth also visited.
In 1924, Goodison Park hosted a baseball exhibition match. Two American teams, the Chicago White Sox and New York Giants, played there. One player even hit a ball clear over the large Goodison Road Stand!
During World War Two, an American forces baseball league played at Goodison Park. Baseball games there raised money for charity.
Goodison Park has also been used for weddings. Many fans have had their ashes buried at the stadium.
The stadium was even featured in the 2015 movie Creed. It was the setting for a boxing match in the film. In 2016, it hosted a real outdoor boxing event. Everton fan Tony Bellew won a world title there.
Rugby League at Goodison Park
Goodison Park also hosted four rugby league matches between 1908 and 1921. These games involved the Australian and Australasian teams.
| Game | Date | Host team | Result | Touring team | Attendance | Tour |
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| 1 | 18 November 1908 |  Northern Union XIII |
9–10 | [[File:|16px|]] Australia | 6,000 | 1908–09 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain |
| 2 | 3 March 1909 | Northern Union XIII |
14–7 | [[File:|16px|]] Australia | 4,500 | |
| 3 | 25 October 1911 | Northern League XIII |
3–16 | [[File:|16px|]] Australasia | 6,000 | 1911–12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain |
| 4 | 30 November 1921 |  Lancashire |
6–29 | [[File:|16px|]] Australasia | 17,000 | 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain |
See also
In Spanish: Goodison Park para niños
