Everton make ‘Unbelievable’ announcement at Bramley-Moore Dock
Everton hosted their second test event at the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium on Sunday (23 March) ahead of their move from the 2025-26 season.
The Toffees are set to usher into a new era as they leave Goodison Park, with test events in the 52,888-capacity stadium to make sure that arrangements around the hosting, transport and operations are perfect, with any problems ironed out.
Everton’s first test event was with 10,000 people, with their under-18s facing Wigan, although travel arrangements were heavily criticised that night.
Taking all the feedback, several changes and additions were made for the second event, which saw 25,000 people flock to the new stadium.
Bramley Moore Dock in shocking preparation
After early complaints, new signage was installed to help supporters commute to the stadium.
Despite all the efforts taken to improve the transportation links to the new stadium, the second test event also invited criticism from the fans over the same issues.
The efforts taken by the Liverpool City Council and Everton were not enough, as the trains were still overloaded and people found it extremely difficult to get around.
During the second test event, which saw Everton under-21s play a Bolton B team, an announcement was made which left the fans laughing.
At half-time, the suspension of Merseyrail services to Southport was confirmed, which enraged the fans and delivered sarcastic laughs, disgusted with the train services.
| Everton’s last four games at Goodison Park | Date |
| v Arsenal | 5th April |
| v Manchester City | 19th April |
| v Ipswich Town | 3rd May |
| v Southampton | 18th May |
Liverpool Echo reporter Tony Scott tweeted about the incident, calling it simply “unbelievable”.
Third test event has to be an improvement
Although baby steps were taken to improve the fan experience in the second test event, it is still nowhere close to where it should be.
Given that once the stadium operates at full capacity and over 50,000 supporters will be present, the load on transport links will only increase even further.
If the transport system is unable to cope with 25,000 supporters, the situation is going to be far worse at full capacity.
The local authorities and Everton need to further evaluate the options for transportation, and a concrete step needs to be taken for the betterment of the supporters.
The third test event is scheduled to happen later once feedback is implemented. With that being the final one, operating at a bigger capacity, this is the last chance for the Toffees to make sure their arrangements are optimal for the next season at Bramley-Moore Dock.