Goodison Park: The Grand Old Lady stays home for Everton Women | OneFootball

Goodison Park will become the home of Everton Women FC, following the departure of the men’s side to a new stadium.

The news is a treat for Everton fans, as the Toffees will now play in the country’s largest stadium dedicated to women’s football. We take a look at the rich history of “The Grand Old Lady” and the promise it holds for the future of Everton women’s football.

The beginnings of Goodison Park

Goodison Park’s start was anything but simple. A long and public battle, featuring financiers, politicians, media outlets and community members, set the backdrop for the ground’s start. The clash between Everton FC and John Houlding, owner of Anfield Stadium, had huge consequences for football in the UK.

The year 1892 was of huge importance in this dispute. Houlding formed a new team, which would become Liverpool FC. Everton, meanwhile, under the guidance of board member George Mahon, moved to Mere Green Field in Walton, Lancashire.

The field was located on Goodison Road, leading to the stadium’s name, Goodison Park. Everton initially rented the land, with the club finally able to purchase the grounds outright in 1895.

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How she started

Upon completion, Goodison Park became England’s first purpose-built football ground. She officially opened on 24 August 1892 — surprisingly, without football being played. An athletics event, a brief music program and a fireworks display were the entertainment for the day.

The first football match took place on 2 September 1892. Everton welcomed Bolton Wanderers in an exhibition game, the home side coming away with a 4-2 win. This was followed in quick succession by Everton’s first league match at the ground, a draw against Nottingham Forest, and then Everton’s first home victory, a 6-0 romp over Newton Heath.

Goodison Park instantly became the place for football fans to go. Regularly pulling in crowds of over 30,000 fans, Everton quickly became the richest club in England, and the club wisely poured its earnings into improving the stadium.

In quick succession, roofs were placed over stands; new double-decker stands were added and dugouts for teams were constructed. Goodison Park became the first football ground to entertain royalty in 1910, as the sitting king and queen visited.

Again in 1938, the king and queen toured the grounds, solidifying Goodison Park’s status as England’s premier football stadium.

Famously, Goodison Park hosted the historic clash between Dick, Kerr Ladies and St Helens Ladies in 1920. The fixture pulled in 53,000 spectators, a women’s football club match attendance which would not be exceeded for 99 years.

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Keeping up with the times

As well as expanding to meet the demand of more and more football fans, Goodison Park also saw improvements of a more technical nature.

In 1957, the stadium turned on the lights for a football match for the first time, a friendly with Liverpool. This was followed a year later by electric wires being laid underneath the pitch to melt snow and ice. The increased amount of water quickly demanded new drainage systems; these were put in place in 1960.

The gigantic three-tiered Main Stand on Goodison Road was constructed in 1971, replacing the original from 1909. In the ’70s and ’80s, safety concerns saw the stadium’s capacity temporarily decreased, then returned to 53,000.

Following the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, Goodison Park’s capacity decreased as it converted to an all-seater stadium. The last major renovation took place in 1994, with the completion of the new Stanley Park End. This brought capacity at Goodison to an official tally of 40,100.

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“The Grand Old Lady”

Following her final expansion in 1994, Goodison Park served Everton well. However, the club had eyes on a larger stadium, and the confines of Goodison Road allowed for no further expansion. The club slowed investment in the stadium, and this showed as the quality of the venue started to deteriorate.

In 1999, a writer for The Independent, David Conn, lamented the state of Goodison Park, and in so doing, gave the stadium its iconic nickname.

“Another potential suitor has apparently thought better of Everton, walking away on Tuesday from the sagging Grand Old Lady of English football, leaving her still in desperate need of a makeover.”

Since then, Goodison Park has been affectionately referred to as football’s “Grand Old Lady”. And now, she has taken on a new role: home to Everton Women.

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Old house, new home

As Everton searched for a larger stadium, the club needed to devise a new purpose for Goodison Park. They discussed several plans over a good 20-year period. Strategies to expand the stadium; convert it into council homes or care facilities; and ideas for conversion to community, retail and entertainment space have all been considered.

However, in a great stroke of joy for women’s football fans, the announcement came on 13 May that Goodison Park would become the permanent home ground of Everton Women. This makes Goodison the largest pitch dedicated to women’s football in England.

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The Toffees will welcome WSL opponents to Goodison Park for all of their matches starting in the 2025/26 season. Not only is this a boon for Everton, it is tremendous news for women’s football fans throughout England, and indeed, worldwide.

This shows that the women’s game is continually growing, and larger crowds will be able to enjoy football in state-of-the-art facilities. And if you want to see how much it means, just watch little Ava react to the news.

Thank you for having us, you Grand Old Lady. We’re excited to stay with you for the next 133 years.

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