A select group of former Everton players have been given a VIP tour of the scenic waterfront site that is being transformed into the Club’s new home.
Graeme Sharp, the Club’s Players’ Life President, along with Leon Osman, Ian Snodin, Graham Stuart, Michael Ball, John Bailey and Ronny Goodlass all donned their hard-hats to check on the building works at Bramley-Moore Dock.
And the former Goodison Park favourites, spanning four decades of service with the Blues, were impressed as representatives from stadium contractors Laing O’Rourke explained the challenges in building a 52,888 stadium in a dockside location.
That includes the continuing infill of the dock itself, while heritage items including cobbles, mooring posts and railway lines from the dock’s historic heyday will be preserved and built back into a fan plaza that surrounds the completed stadium.
Osman said: “It’s just brilliant to come and see the site as it is now.
“We want this to be a ground that not only Evertonians can be proud of, but the country too and it’s going to be a wonderful stadium in a fabulous setting.
“To think that where the water is will eventually be the stadium and the pitch is an incredible feat of engineering and I’ve particularly loved seeing the elements of the site that are going to stay.
“Let’s not forget what happened on this site all those years ago and why these docks are so amazing.
“Let’s keep those features, but let’s also erect something new to add to Liverpool’s wonderful skyline.”
Sand dredged from the Mersey estuary continues to displace the water in the dock, with more than half of the 480,000 cubic metres required now seated within the dock bed.
The infill is expected to be completed by Christmas, when the sand will be heavily compacted and then piled to provide solid foundations to support the steel and concrete sub-structure.
Ball added: “We’ve seen the designs for months now and what the finished stadium will look like, but then, to get an opportunity to come down here, it’s mind-blowing what you have to go through to get to that point.
“The Club hasn’t just picked the easiest site; they’ve picked a great location that makes it very difficult and it’s mesmerising.
“As the guys who are working here said, it’s not about the football stadium – which we’re all going to love and adore and hopefully be successful in – but it’s also great for the city.
“To see this part of Liverpool being regenerated through this beautiful building that’s going to be here in a few years, and to know this is the first thing the ships will see as they come in, is incredible.”
Goodlass, who starred for the Blues between 1975-1977, was equally impressed by the building works, which will see over 95 per cent of materials recycled on site.
He added: “There have been obstacles to overcome, primarily due to the location, but to see this massive project taking place is a dawning of reality.
“My father’s ashes are scattered at Goodison and leaving the Old Lady is going to be a sad day, but having seen this site I can’t wait to get here now.
“We have to move on and look to the future, because things have taken place at Goodison that you can’t recreate.
“This is a new stadium for what is a very traditional club, so you have to take the things that made Goodison special, keep the values together and build new memories.
“To build a stadium on a waterfront and make it world-class gives you a sense of pride in the city.
“It’s a statement of what we can do and if you are going to move, then make a statement.
“Moving to a new home on the banks of the royal blue Mersey has that wow factor and hopefully, once we’re in, we’ll be at a different level as a team on and off the pitch.”
