Everton Football Club - Stadia

Everton originally played in the southeast corner of Stanley Park, which is the site for the new Liverpool F.C. stadium, with the first official match taking place in 1879. In 1882, a man named J. Cruitt donated land at Priory Road which became the club's home before they moved to Anfield, which was Everton's home until 1892.^[30] At this time, a dispute of how the club was to be owned and run emerged with Anfield's owner and Everton's chairman, John Houlding. A dispute between Houlding and the club's committee over how the club should be run, led to Houlding attempting to gain full control of the club by registering the company, "Everton F.C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd".^{[citation needed]} In response, Everton left Anfield for a new ground, Goodison Park, where the club have played ever since. Houlding attempted to take over Everton's name, colours, fixtures and league position, but was denied by The Football Association.^{[citation needed]} Instead, Houlding formed a new club, Liverpool F.C..

Ever since those events, a fierce rivalry has existed between Everton and Liverpool, albeit one that is generally perceived as more respectful than many other derbies in English football. This was illustrated by a chain of red and blue scarves that were linked between the gates of both grounds across Stanley Park as a tribute to the Liverpool fans killed in the Hillsborough disaster.^[31]

Goodison Park, the first major football stadium to be built in England, was opened in 1892.^[32]1966 FIFA World Cup. It was also the first English ground to have undersoil heating, the first to have two tiers on all sides. Goodison Park has staged more top-flight football games than any other ground in the United Kingdom and was the only English club ground to host a semi-final at the

The church grounds of St Luke the Evangelist are adjacent to the corner of the Main Stand and the Gwladys Street Stand.^[33]

On matchdays players walk out to the theme tune to Z-Cars, named Johnny Todd, a traditional Liverpool children's song collected in 1890 by Frank Kidson which tells the story of a sailor betrayed by his lover while away at sea.^[34]

Everton's reserves play at Halton Stadium in Widnes.^[35]

[edit] Proposed new stadium

For more details on this topic, see The Kirkby Project.

There have been indications since 1996 that Everton will move to a new stadium. The original plan was for a new 60,000-seat stadium to be built, but in 2000, a proposal was submitted to build a 55,000 seat stadium as part of the King's Dock regeneration. This was unsuccessful as Everton failed to generate the £30 million needed for a half stake in the stadium project, with the city council rejecting Everton FC in 2003.^[36]

Late in 2004, driven by Liverpool Council and the Northwest Development Corporation, the club was in talks with Liverpool FC regarding sharing a stadium on grade two listed Stanley Park. Negotiations broke down as Everton failed to raise 50% of the costs.^[37] On 11 January 2005, Liverpool announced that ground-sharing was not a possibility, proceeding to plan their own Stanley Park stadium.^[38]

On 16 June 2006, it was announced that Everton had entered into talks with Knowsley CouncilKirkby. The stadium is expandable to over 60,000.^[39] The club took the unusual move of giving its supporters a say in the club's future by holding a ballot on whether or not to move to Kirkby. The ballot returned 59.27% in favour.^[40] However, an inquiry into the move to the Kirkby stadium was filed 6 August 2008, delaying the construction by at least 18 months.^[41] The government has now rejected Everton's plans to move. Local and regional politicians are attempting to put together an amended rescue plan. Liverpool City Council have called a meeting with Everton FC with a view to assess some suitable sites they have short listed within the city boundary.^[42][43] and Tesco over the possibility of building a new 55,000 seat stadium in

The Football Association's bid for the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup includes a bid from the city of Liverpool to host some games.^[44] Everton have stated that without a new stadium the club would not be able to host such matches.^[44]