Members of Everton’s Stadium Development and Fan Engagement teams have met with representatives of the Everton Disabled Supporters’ Association (EDSA) to offer insight into the improved facilities at Everton Stadium.
The Club’s impressive new home, currently under construction at Bramley-Moore Dock, pledges to become the most accessible and inclusive stadium in the UK when the doors open in the summer of 2025.
And EDSA have been given a first-hand account of the huge upgrade in numbers and facilities that will be available for disabled supporters in the 52,888 capacity stadium.
Mark Dyer, Chair of EDSA said: “My fellow committee members and I were very impressed with the progress made and this meeting offered up a lot more detail in terms of facilities that are going to be available.
“We have been involved in this project since the initial planning stages and today answered a lot of questions that our members were asking, because much of what was suggested and consulted upon in the early days has been incorporated.
“Due to the nature of some of our members’ disabilities, they have a problem with anxiety in terms of change, so what we wanted to do was to reduce that as much as possible.
“It is going to be an ongoing process, but we have made some pretty significant progress on that today and agreed how we can work on that going forwards.”
Dyer added: “The fact this will be the most accessible stadium in the UK is a message that we want to put out to everyone.
“Everton deserve a lot of credit for what they have done at Goodison, but this takes it to an entirely different level and the options that are available to people are fantastic.
“We just can’t wait to get in now. All these things take time and we can celebrate a final season at Goodison, but it’s getting tantalisingly close to a new era for everyone and we can’t wait.”
In total, Everton Stadium will boast 279 wheelchair positions, including 226 for Season Ticket members and match-ticket purchasers and a further 53 in ALL (bars, restaurants and experiences).
There will be vantage points in all four stands and at varying levels, offering both pitchside and elevated views.
Lifts and escalator access will be available for the transition between different levels, while all kiosks around the stadium will have reduced level counters for easier access.
Strategically positioned around the bowl are 366 easy access amenity seats, with a further 310 amenity seats located close to vomitories, but accessed by more than seven steps.
The stadium features 58 accessible toilets, plus an ambulant disabled cubicle in all WC blocks.
There will be three additional family WC’s, plus 95 baby change facilities across all areas, 20 gender neutral toilets and three Changing Places facilities, which offer wall-mounted vertical grab rails and drop-down support rails on either side.
Furthermore, Everton Stadium will house eight inclusive faith rooms, two quiet rooms and a sensory box with pitch view, which can accommodate 14 supporters or family members, plus two wheelchair positions.
In a wider context, there are fully accessible bars, restaurants and experiences as part of the ALL offerings, including Beyond, Everton’s equivalent of the Tunnel Club.
Externally, a fully accessible club store and low-level ticket office windows are accessed by a fan plaza that itself fully accessible as the entrance to the stadium footprint.
Alix Waldron, Director of New Stadium Development, said: “We were delighted to give EDSA members a flavour of how all their input has fed through into a brilliant design from an accessibility point of view, and what is to come in the next 12-15 months.
“EDSA has been influential in the planning and design process, so hopefully nothing was a surprise and they can see that there is an awful lot we have been able to do at the new stadium that is a huge improvement on what we can currently provide.”
The group will meet the Club later in the year, to further discuss matters around transport and parking at the new stadium.
For more information on EDSA please click here.
