Everton can learn from Brentford in new stadium developments
ECHO journalist Chris Beesley has travelled to London to take a behind the scenes look at the Premier League’s newest stadiums as the momentum gathers on Bramley-Moore Dock developments for Everton.
The Toffees have erected the first above-ground structure on sight as the first calendar year of construction comes to an end.
The Blues’ new ground has a proposed capacity of 52,000 with the availability of an extra 10,000 seats if they choose.
Construction is due to finish in 2024 on the River Mersey and could be used as early as the 2024/25 campaign.
There have been several new stadiums built in the Premier League in recent years, including Brentford’s.
When Stewart Purvis, the chairman of the supporters club Bees United spoke to the ECHO, he said:
“Most people have tried to hang on to Griffin Park traditions. Three of the famous four pubs (one in each corner of the ground) remain and many fans still drink in them in the heart of Brentford before the 15-20-minute walk to the new stadium.
“We believe we’ve got the best of both worlds. We’ve got a stadium that is bigger than the one we had before, but we’ve still got the atmosphere.”
Building a brand-new stadium in the incredibly built up city of London posed issues for Brentford.
Purvis added: “A young fan who was an architect worked out a way of fitting the stadium in plus some blocks of flats that were effectively paying for the project in a property deal. It’s all a bit of a pinch to fit it all in.
“However, we’ve probably got the best television gantry in the Premier League.
“It was done in the conscious belief that if you had really good facilities for TV, they would come more often and pay the extra money beyond the requisite number of matches so that should hopefully turn out to be a good investment.”
Traditions
Moving clubs doesn’t always guarantee success, at least in the short term. The Blues have a brilliant opportunity to learn from the mistakes and replicate some of the successes of some of their rivals’ newly erected stadiums.
Everton must emulate Goodison Park within some capacity. This is a new project and should be unique in its own way, but the club’s core values must carry over.
One aspect of Goodison worth keeping might be the church. They are the only club left in the Premier League that still have a church connected to their ground, a piece of Everton history they might want to keep, making the new stadium feel like home.
The fans are core to Everton. The values they hold as well as the attachment the Blues have with their club is unrivalled.
It is imperative for the Toffees to strike a good balance between a new era at the club and remembering/ celebrating everything that came before.
In other Everton news, Kevin Campbell thrilled by Jarrad Branthwaite in Everton draw v Chelsea.