Builders were working on the signage high up on Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday while renovations were being carried out inside one of the bars opposite Everton’s magnificent new ground. It would have been a predictable scene of final preparations for the first league game at the £800m venue but for an unusual sight in this part of town: holidaymakers.
They were cruise-ship passengers to be precise, dozens of them. Instead of disembarking the Regal Princess and turning right towards the Royal Albert Dock and city centre when it docked in Liverpool, as one might expect, they had turned left and walked 20 to 25 minutes along Regent Road to visit the finest new addition to the Premier League. They would have sailed past it on entering the River Mersey, too. No wonder Everton plan to sell stadium and dockland tours on board cruise ships in the near future.
Not long ago, you would have advised tourists against walking through the industrial wasteland that was – and still is, in many sections – this part of north Liverpool. Nothing to see here apart from scrap metal merchants, disused docks and the empty shells of pubs that once thronged with business. You either drove through Regent Road or worked there. But as the builders, the bars, the new apartments, and even something as simple as new street lighting indicate, life is slowly starting to return to this area. While acknowledging the impact of the Titanic hotel and the creatives in the Ten Streets area, Everton’s stadium is the catalyst for that change.
It has been an arduous journey to get to this point, and one that almost derailed Everton financially. But 22 years after the collapse of the dream to relocate to a world-class waterfront stadium at Kings Dock, and eight years since Bramley‑Moore Dock was first identified as the club’s preferred site for a new home, the saga will feel worthwhile on Sunday when the first competitive game is played at Hill Dickinson Stadium, against Brighton.
There has been some criticism of the construction in the run-up to a momentous occasion for Everton and the city of Liverpool for costing the latter its Unesco world heritage status. The criticism is spectacularly misplaced, and not merely because Unesco warned Liverpool city council over unimpressive developments that had been built along the waterfront long before Everton’s proposal got off the ground. Bramley-Moore Dock was abandoned for decades before Everton’s arrival.
To give an idea of the neglect, there were 12 unexploded anti‑aircraft shells from the second world war at the bottom of the dock when Everton took possession of the site. And Bramley-Moore could be viewed only through a locked gate at the time. World heritage status did nothing for these docklands. Now a stadium designed by the US architect Dan Meis to reflect tradition and modernity – four brick-clad stands in keeping with nearby warehouses, topped by a futuristic curved barrel roof – stands proudly on the banks of the Mersey.
The ship has finally and truly come in for the owners of the Bramley Moore hotel, which somehow survived in splendid isolation for years before gaining a Premier League neighbour, although it now has company from several bars that have recently popped up opposite the stadium. One is the Terrace, which was home to a tyre company until 18 months ago when the new owners embarked on a major transformation of the three‑floor premises. It will employ 28 people on Sunday, staff and security included.
The Liverpool Waterfront North councillor Dave Hanratty raised concerns at a recent licensing meeting that “the only investment we’re getting at the moment is alcohol-licensed premises”. One business had a licence denied at the meeting on safety grounds, but Becki Heron, manager of the Terrace, says: “I think this area will become its own village, its own hub. You’ll start to see restaurants popping up, takeaways, shops, obviously more pubs. Two years max and it will be unrecognisable.
“A lot of land around here has been bought by developers to turn into residential but the people who have managed to snag a spot here are set for life. There will be shops on this block soon. There is nothing around here at the minute.
“The nearest shop is a six-minute drive or a 25-minute walk away. It is in everyone’s best interests that it takes off. I’m getting a Baltic Market‑type vibe and that would be brilliant.
“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think we’ll be getting a Marks & Spencer opening up next door, but the area will play to its strengths and with Everton getting a licence to host concerts that will also help.”
Heron is speaking on the rooftop of the Terrace, which offers a stunning view of Hill Dickinson Stadium and the outdoor plaza that can hold events for 17,000 people. The bar also overlooks the huge wastewater treatment works situated next to Everton’s new home. Gentrification will have its limits here. Hanratty wants the council to ensure “we have the right balance” in an area that contains plans for Liverpool Waters, the long-awaited development scheme from the landowner Peel Holdings.
Beyond residents of the Tobacco Warehouse at Stanley Dock, however, few people currently live in the vicinity of Hill Dickinson Stadium. The ground is in one of the most deprived wards in the country but there are development plans for the area between Bramley‑Moore Dock and the city centre, and the hope is Everton’s presence will accelerate them. The club’s American owner, the Friedkin Group, also has eyes on developing Nelson Dock next door.
Everton have staged three test events to obtain a safety certificate for the 52,769-capacity venue (it was going to be 52,888 before seats were removed to accommodate TV cameras and install more barriers between home and away supporters). The main issues at the stadium have been large queues to get in and to buy food and drink. Stock ran low at the near-capacity test event against Roma and there were delays at the turnstiles caused by fans not downloading tickets in advance. Both problems can be ironed out over time.
Outside the stadium transport has caused the biggest headache, but there was a noticeable improvement for the Roma game thanks to more shuttle buses, more frequent and larger trains and new parking measures. “I think we’ve got into a good place, but there is still more we are going to focus on improving over the next couple of weeks and beyond,” the council leader, Liam Robinson, said. “I’m sure over the season ahead little things will keep on popping up because it’s new for everyone.”
Bill Kinsella attended the first two test events and has a season ticket for the South Stand, a steep bank of 14,000 seats that is the home end. “It is a fantastic stadium, so modern,” said the Evertonian from Bootle. “It’s what the club need to generate more income to fight against the top six and take us into a higher bracket.” Kinsella was there on Monday to buy an Everton baseball cap to protect his head as he undergoes medical treatment. “Sunday will be a historic moment for the club,” he said. “I’m not sure what the atmosphere will be like because people will be getting used to a new stadium but it will pick up as the season goes on. It’s all new.
“People are saying: ‘What about the transport?’ But you find your way in the end. I live in Bootle and can get a bus or the train but, while I’m a bit incapacitated, my family have made arrangements with the club to drop me off as near as they can and I’ll walk from there. I’ve got loads of mates who will be here to look after me. I’m really excited. The excitement will get me there.”
Everton will celebrate their first league match at Hill Dickinson Stadium but know they cannot be distracted from the serious business of trying to win a Premier League game. The manager, David Moyes, said before the opening game of the season, against Leeds on Monday, that while Everton have done brilliantly to build a new stadium, the task now is to build a football club inside it. “We are a long way off at the moment,” Moyes said. His team’s display in defeat at Elland Road confirmed as much.
But Hill Dickinson Stadium heralds a fresh start for a football club and an area that have seen better days. Everton’s first league game at Anfield was a 2-1 win against Accrington (not Stanley) on 8 September 1888. Their first league game at Goodison Park was a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest on 3 September 1892. Sunday 24 August 2025 starts a new chapter.
