Everton’s training ground: Where it is, what it’s called and the history of the Toffees’ HQ
Everton recently moved into their new Hill Dickinson Stadium, but the Merseyside club’s training ground has been a staple of their recent history.
Everton have recently been taken over by the Friedkin Group, after years of misery under the ownership of Farhad Moshiri.
Everton moved out of their famous Goodison Park stadium at the end of last season, with the men’s team set for a new era.
However, there has not been anywhere near as much change in terms of where the Toffees are based for the day-to-day activities.
Here, Goodison News looks at the Blues’ training ground in detail.
Where is Everton’s training ground?
While Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium is located on the waterfront, near the city centre, the training ground is nowhere near.
The Toffees’ base is located in Halewood, in the borough of Knowsley, which is within the Liverpool City Region.
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It is located on Finch Lane and houses the men’s, women’s and academy teams.
What is Everton’s training ground called?
Everton‘s training base is called Finch Farm, because the site of Finch Lane was a plant nursery called Finch Nurseries before it was acquired by the Blues.
The Toffees bought the land in 2006, and they sold it on for £2.1million, and had it designed to their specifications by ROM Capital, before it opened in 2007.
The club signed a 50-year tenancy agreement with ROM and has an option to purchase the site every five years.
It is known as the school of science by some supporters, which originates from the 1960s Blues’ teams, whose analytical approach to the game
What facilities does Finch Farm have?
Finch Farm has 10 full-sized pitches, one of which is floodlit and also boasts a synthetic pitch, which is also floodlit.
It features a specialist area for fitness work and goalkeeper training, and there are changing areas for all teams based inside.
Other facilities include a gym, hydrotherapy pools, a sauna, a media room and a video editing suite.
What has been said about Everton’s Finch Farm base?
Ex-Everton striker Graeme Sharp was blown away by the new training ground, speaking in 2007, he said: “Finch Farm looks absolutely fantastic, it is state of the art and I believe it is the best around in the country at the moment.
“The facilities that will be available to the players and the management are amazing. Bellefield holds special memories, but it was important we had a new training facility to move forward.”
Legendary Blues manager Howard Kendall echoed those sentiments when he was invited by then-manager Roberto Martinez in October 2013.
He said: “It’s a wonderful training ground, it truly is. Bellefield had many charms, but in terms of facilities, Finch Farm is far better.”
The history of Everton’s training HQ
Before moving to Finch Farm, the Blues trained at Bellefield, in West Derby, Liverpool, where they had been based since the 1960s.
Reigning World Cup champions Brazil even used the facilities in preparation for the 1966 tournament, but they had become outdated by the time the Toffees moved to Finch Farm.
Before they trained at the West Derby site, the Blues trained on Stanley Park and even at Goodison Park itself.
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