Premier League football club Everton has released images showcasing the scale of the steep-tiered south stand at its new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, which is due to open in 2024.
Everton announced on Friday that virtually all of the double-stepped concrete terracing units are now in place in the stand, which will have a capacity of over 13,000 once complete.
Blue seats will now be installed in the upper sections of the stadium as part of the ongoing programme which has spread across the north stand. Everton marked a new milestone last month as it installed the first seats at the 52,888-capacity stadium, and the club hopes to have all seats in place across the upper tier of the bowl by Christmas.
The south stand has also been fitted with glazing on the second-level concourse. Angled panels, which stretch across the entire face of the stand, have been designed to reflect the water from the nearby Nelson Dock.
Everton has also placed the first giant speakers into the roof spaces of the north stand. The speakers will hang from all four stands as part of the PA system.
The last 600-tonne crawler crane, which was used mainly in the construction of the stadium’s roof, has now left the construction site. As a result, a service tunnel that had been left open in the east stand to provide vehicular access to the pitch area can now be closed off in preparation for lower terracing units being installed.
Work on restoring the site’s hydraulic tower and engine house is also being finished off. Last week, a decorative capstan was reinstated at the entrance to the hydraulic tower as a nod to the building’s importance in Liverpool’s maritime history.
Everton’s new stadium is due to open in the final months of 2024 and it will be a host venue during UEFA Euro 2028, which England will stage alongside Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Colin Chong, Everton’s interim chief executive and chief stadium development officer, said in June that the stadium remains “firmly on track” after reports suggested that the venue would not be ready for the start of the 2024-25 season.
Chong moved to clarify that a precise moving-in date had never been publicly set by Everton, with the club having stated that the schedule of the development would see Laing O’Rourke hand over the keys “during” the 2024-25 season. Chong has not ruled out the possibility of Everton playing the entirety of the season at Goodison Park ahead of the move to Bramley-Moore Dock.
