A new home for Everton Football Club – capturing the magic of Goodison Park at the new Hill Dickinson stadium through a football-first approach to design.
Officially opened in August 2025, for the first home game of the 2025/26 English Premier League season, the 52,888 seater Hill Dickinson Stadium is the new home of Everton Football Club. Located at the heart of the regeneration of Liverpool’s iconic waterfront, the new world-class stadium has been designed and built to honour the club’s deep heritage while transforming the modern matchday experience.
Designed with fans at its heart, the project embraced a fan-first approach from the outset. Led by architect Dan Meis across RIBA Stages 1-3 (including planning application), our design team engaged directly with stakeholders, fans and the public using social media and community collaboration to shape a new venue rooted in pride, passion and identity.
Partners BDP Pattern brought that vision to life as delivery architect, together with Buro Happold’s engineering expertise and Planit-IE’s landscape and public realm design. Construction was by Laing O’Rourke delivering the construction phase in just 178 weeks.
Vital to its success, the new stadium lives in harmony with the context of its new surroundings — creating an authentic experience grounded in place, purpose and people.
Elevating the fan experience
Designing the Hill Dickinson stadium combined reimagining the matchday experience while honoring over 135 years of history at Goodison Park.
Located at Bramley-Moore Dock – originally constructed in 1848 and part of a former UNESCO World Heritage Site, the stadium was crafted to feel as though it had grown out of the docklands. Its design combines heritage and modernity. Taking inspiration from the nearby ‘brick box’ warehouses, the stadium honors the dock’s history, preserving original features like cobblestones, railway lines and the Grade II listed Hydraulic Engine House to anchor the stadium in its historic surroundings and deliver a bold new vision for the city.
The design also embraces sustainability, with efficient building systems, renewable energy from rooftop solar panels – reducing the stadium’s carbon footprint and modeling the way for future developments.
Our approach put fans at the heart of the design process: sharing our draft ideas and sketches on social media, joining the Club’s fan advisory board and inviting real-time feedback to shape the design through dialogue and engagement – building trust and creating an emotional connection.
Designed for intensity and intimacy, the stadium places fans as close as possible to the action as regulations allow. The steeply-raked elevation of the South Stand – one of the steepest in Europe – has been designed to create a ‘blue wall’ of 13,000 Evertonians, maximizing noise and visual impact to support the team and deliver a home game advantage. The design of the lower part of the stand allows for safe standing, designed to replicate and enhance the terracing feeling of Goodison Park’s Gwladys Street, immersing supporters directly in the action.
As well as offering stunning views of the surrounding rivers and waterways, the stadium also offers fans deeper connections with their favorite artists, teams, and athletes, delivering inclusive, immersive and engaging spaces at every stage of the visitor journey.
The result is a true football ground – intimate, atmospheric and built for passionate supporters. It’s about more than the venue; it’s about placemaking, inclusivity, and creating diverse experiences that make a lasting impact.
Revenue-driven design
The new Hill Dickinson stadium has been designed not only to inspire fans but to serve as a vital, long-term revenue engine for the Club’s future success.
From the outset, our design approach integrated commercial strategy with fan experience. Our ‘Football First’ vision driver shaped every design move. Thoughtfully positioned branding opportunities, immersive digital displays and sponsorship elements are embedded into the fabric of the venue as natural extensions of the stadium’s identity and story.
By developing a cohesive graphic language and strategic design guide, we provided opportunities for both partners and performers to collaborate in the creation of a seamless, street-to-stage journey. This strategic approach to upfront planning maximized return on investment while allowing for flexible, evolving activation across matchdays and year-round live events
The result is a venue built for financial sustainability – one that enhances the guest experience while unlocking long-term value for Everton Football Club and its partners.
Regenerating communities
The stadium has also become a catalyst for urban transformation. The new venue marks the beginning of the wider regeneration of this part of the city – activating the waterfront with riverside parks, new homes, commercial development and public space.
More than a football ground – the Hill Dickinson stadium is a new civic anchor and year-round destination. It’s expected to generate a £1.3 billion boost to the local economy, attract 1.4 million visitors annually and create thousands of jobs across Merseyside.
As part of The People’s Project – which includes the new stadium and legacy redevelopment of Goodison Park – nearly £800 million in social value is forecast to be created over the next 10 years. Together Everton Football Club, their charity – Everton in the Community and Lang O’Rourke are supporting local people through the employment, training, apprenticeships and business opportunities created by the stadium.
By opening up the waterfront for the first time in generations, the Hill Dickinson stadium not only provides a world-class home for Everton Football Club but delivers lasting community and economic impact for Liverpool.
