Carragher’s verdict: steep, loud, and familiar
When a Liverpool legend calls Everton’s new home “like Goodison,” people take notice. Jamie Carragher toured Hill Dickinson Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock ahead of the first Premier League game there and came away impressed. He filmed short clips for Instagram and TikTok, and they shot around Merseyside fast. The key line? It’s steep. Very steep. And in English football, that’s the secret sauce for noise.
Carragher spent most of his time in the south stand, the single-tier “home end” designed as a licensed safe standing area. In plain terms, it’s built for sound. Think compressed rows, rail seats, and a wall of supporters that can move as one. He called it the core of the atmosphere, the spot that sets the tone for the rest of the stadium. He also pointed to a future where rules could change and allow more people to stand there, packing even more energy into the matchday.
His message to Everton supporters was simple: stand, sing, and get loud from the first whistle on Sunday. Carragher referenced the recent hit-out against Roma as proof of what the bowl can hold when the volume is up. The clips show him almost relishing the steepness, a rare nod from a rival who knows what an intimidating home end looks and sounds like.
This moment lands as Everton turn the page on 139 years at Goodison Park. The club’s move to the docks is no small thing. Hill Dickinson Stadium seats 52,888 and sits on the River Mersey, with a modern design that aims to keep the best parts of the old ground—proximity, steep sightlines, and a crowd right on top of the pitch—while adding space, safety, and revenue the club needs in the Premier League era.
For many Evertonians, the biggest fear in moving was losing Goodison’s edge. That ground was famous for its tight angles and the way sound hit you, especially on big nights. Carragher’s praise matters because he’s spent a career inside the loudest arenas in England. If he says the new place has that bite, fans will believe it can carry over.
What the design means for matchdays
Steep stands are more than a design flourish. They pull the upper rows closer to the pitch, which means voices carry and pressure builds. Modern UK stadiums push up against a strict limit on the rake angle for safety. Everton’s designers have pushed toward that ceiling, then wrapped the stand with a roof that traps the noise. It’s not nostalgia—it’s acoustics.
The south stand is the heart of it. It’s a single-tier wall designed to hold roughly thirteen thousand home supporters, creating a focal point for songs and surges in momentum. Safe standing here uses rail seating, so every standing spot still has a seat locked in place and a barrier in front. Since 2022, the Premier League and government have allowed licensed safe standing, and more clubs have joined in as the rules have bedded in. Right now, the ratio is essentially one person per seat space. If regulations evolve, densities could shift, but any change will be tied to safety audits and licensing.
Why does that matter? Because safe standing concentrates energy. People move, bounce, and react together. When the team wins a corner in front of the home end, you feel it—not just hear it. That feedback loop between crowd and players is what turns a new building into a real home advantage.
Goodison Park taught Everton supporters how to work that loop. Tight touchlines, low roofs, and unforgiving angles made it one of the hardest places to visit. The new ground tries to recreate those cues without copying the old blueprint. There’s more legroom, better sightlines for people in the back, and a roof designed with acoustics in mind. The trick is to carry over the bite while modernizing everything else.
There’s a practical side to all this too. Matchday routines are changing. The club has mapped routes from rail hubs and park-and-ride sites, plus shuttle options to manage the flow around the docks. Stewards will guide fans through the safe standing codes, where to enter, and how to clear aisles. The first few weeks always bring teething problems—queuing, signage, even where the songs start—but they settle fast once people find their spots.
The location at Bramley-Moore Dock has been part of a broader regeneration push on Liverpool’s north docks. For Everton, a new stadium is also a financial lever. More seats, improved hospitality, and non-matchday events help close the gap with rivals who’ve already expanded. Tours, museums, and community spaces usually follow, and you can already picture the skyline shots when the evening games kick off and the lights bounce off the Mersey.
Carragher’s reaction also cuts through the rivalry. It’s not common for a Liverpool stalwart to shower praise on Everton infrastructure, but he knows the scene. He’s played in steep, angry bowls across Europe. When he says the rake is right and the sound will be fierce, that’s not PR—he’s speaking from experience.
Fans have been quick to dissect his clips. You can see people focusing on the vertical rise, the rail seats in the home end, and the way the roof overhang lines up with the tier. Everton supporters want to hear that the soul of Goodison isn’t lost. Neutrals want to know if this is another English ground that will sit flat and quiet or if it will punch above its size. Steep tiers answer that question before a ball is kicked.
For players, the shift will be real. New locker rooms and routines, new sightlines from the tunnel, and a different feel under the lights. Teams often talk about needing a signature moment early—a late goal or a big tackle in front of the home end—to lock in the identity of a new ground. Carragher basically asked the fanbase to script that moment quickly: get in early, stand up, and go full volume from the start.
There’s a human side to the move too. Families who spent decades in the same Goodison seats have migrated together. Supporter groups have worked with the club to organize singing sections and maintain traditions. The club has tried to keep neighbors together in the new bowl so the sound doesn’t scatter. That’s the difference between a building that looks nice and one that feels like home.
All this plays into the first Premier League fixture at the docks this weekend. It’s not just another home game. It’s an opening statement, a test of transport, stewarding, acoustics, and nerves. Visiting teams will want to spoil the party. Everton will want the first roar to roll off that south stand and tell the league this place is already hard to visit.
For now, the takeaway is simple: the design choices are deliberate, the steepness is real, and the confidence from an outside voice like Carragher is a green light for supporters to own the space. If the crowd brings the same edge that made Goodison infamous, Hill Dickinson Stadium won’t need a long bedding-in period. The stage is set, the safe standing is ready, and the club finally has the room it’s been missing. This is where the noise starts—and where it can swing games.
One phrase will be repeated a lot in the coming days: Everton new stadium. It’s a mouthful now, but give it a few big wins and a couple of wild nights, and it’ll sound like home.
August 25 2025 0
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