Redevelopment of the Goodison Park
Tom Hughes, an engineering student, sent these plans to the club in 1996. He has never received a reply, but was more fortunate when he contacted the "Goodison for Everton" campaign. GFE have sent his designs to an architect as part of their study of the feasibility of redeveloping Goodison.
To my eyes the plans look great - just look at what the view will be from the proposed main stand.
What follows is an extract from the letter Tom sent to Everton together with the drawings.
The Problems with Goodison
1. AGE: The most obvious factor. The Gwladys Street and Bullens Road stands are 60 and 70 years old respectfully, which would suggest that their lifetimes are surely limited.
2. DESIGN: Several aspects of their design are now much outdated. Such features as obstructed views, wooden floors, restricted access and exit routes, small and limited concourse areas are all intolerable for the future, aswell as this, the stands mentioned both possess relatively poor sound retention qualities, hardly ideal for generating a good atmosphere(see point #4). One of these complaints is also applicable to the much more modern Main Stand, i.e. obstructed views.
3. CAPACITY: A capacity of 40,000 is insufficient for Everton Football Club. Even at present with our moderate league form we can expect to achieve average attendances in excess of 37,000. If/when there is genuine title contention and future European success, then Goodison would certainly be unable to cope with demand. Special occasions, such as derby-matches and other big games; e.g. versus Newcastle Utd, Man. Utd and F.A. cup matches (especially considering that the away fans allocation may sometimes exceed 6,000 ) can even now all conceivably attract significantly larger attendances than the present capacity. Further to this, with the exception of Old Trafford, there are no stadiums large enough to host F.A. cup semi-finals. There is also much speculation concerning England/Britain possibly hosting the "World Cup" Within the next decade. A decent increase in capacity would make Goodison an automatic choice for all such events. Consider what is happening at other clubs, for instance if Sunderland can build a complete 42,000 stadium when they have only once averaged over 30,000 in the past 25 years, and Middlesbrough build a 30,000+ stadium when only a few years ago they regularly played in front of just 5,000, then perhaps we should not feel too extravagant looking towards 50,000 as a realistic target.
Another important reason to raise the capacity is to further improve the atmosphere. Who would have thought only a few years ago that a Goodison derby would be attended by less than 50,000, and who could forget 50,000 Evertonians lifting the roof against Bayern Munich, such occasions simply cannot be repeated with the present reduced capacity.
4. ATMOSPHERE; The importance of a good atmosphere is obvious, it not only encourages the team, it intimidates the opposition and increases the entertainment value, especially for younger supporters. Unfortunately, at present the Gwladys street and Bullens Road stands are acoustically inefficient. The numerous supporters at the St. End who wish to sing and chant tend to congregate directly beneath the upper tier. Despite their great efforts only a small proportion of the noise generated can escape out into the rest of the stadium. This is due to the close proximity and shape of the underside of the stand above tending to contain the sound (fig.1). The rest of the fans on the Terrace Stand are essentially in a wide open expanse, with the high roof above serving little to retain the sound from this low level section. Of course for the big games, with the entire St. End in full voice then a good atmosphere has and will prevail. This inherent poor acoustic efficiency is demonstrated by comparing the noise levels at both St. End and Park End stands. The latter with almost 4,000 less seats, and probably much higher average age is still capable of matching the St. end. This is achieved by virtue of its design possessing better sound retention (fig.2). The same situation exists with the Bullens Road side, with far too many spectators in the lower tier and distanced from the roof (fig.3). I will attempt to show how a new design would solve all of these problems.
There are three key factors to consider in designing the New Goodison Park.
(a).Performance of the design to provide a good viewing platform. Inclusive of extensive disabled and executive facilities.
(b).Appearance; the new stands should be aesthetically impressive and imposing, maintaining double-decker format (with change in proportions), creating in effect a towering wall of support.
(c). Potential for stands to promote a good atmosphere for all matches, whether there are 20,000 or 50,000 attending.
The new design should satisfy all the above criteria.
NEW STAND DESIGN: As can be seen around the football grounds of the world, there are infinite variations on the theme. They can range from those with four simple single tier stands, right through to the multiple tier arenas with sweeping unbroken stands completely encircling the pitch. The latter extreme is the realm of the more impressive stadia of the world, Impressive in both appearance, and performance, and it is at this end of the spectrum that we should set our sights.
There are several issues that influence all stadium design such as; required capacity, space available and of course COST. Taking into account the size of the club and its support then I feel a figure in the region of 50,000 would be an appropriate estimate for a revised capacity. In the case of the present site, space is extremely limited, with some room for expansion at the rear of the Park End. Bullens Road itself will need to be bridged, which may cause encroachment on the end terrace houses, however since there are only a two streets along this side the disturbance factor would be minimal. Therefore in order to fully utilize the site, two tiered configuration would be necessary (and desirable). Of course the St. End and Bullens Road stands are already two tier, however as previously stated their failings are glaringly obvious, with the majority of views low down and possibly obstructed, plus the relative lack of atmosphere enhancement. The fundamental problem with the existing stands is that seating numbers for the upper tiers need to be increased dramatically, with a reduction by approximately one quarter in the lower sections. If you consider the St. End for example, the total number of seats is split between the two levels; 3,800 in the upper, and 6,000 in the lower. This ratio needs to be reversed, with the upper tier holding between 7,000-9,000, and at the same time providing superior elevated views for the majority (fig.4). The increased number of fans seated directly beneath a large expanse of roof would greatly increase the amount of noise generated at this end of the ground. The lower stand would have its capacity trimmed to approx. 4,000, with some of its back rows removed to make space for the supporting structure of the upper tier. The lower stand would now also be rid of any of the pillars that at present make these stands "obstruction jungles". This two tiered arrangement could be continued around to the Bullens Road side. In order to maximize the effect of these two new sides, the Bullens Road upper stand could then be curved around a corner section to join with an extended Park stand, which would remain a single tier but with the added rear rows slightly steeper (fig.5). Two corners would now be completely enclosed, producing a tall cavernous bank of seats on 3 sides (fig.6). This is commonly referred to as the "Horse- shoe design", and features in many of Europe’s great stadia. It also has the effect of affording the main stand some measure of individuality within an otherwise unified plan. The continuous sweep from the St. End around to the Park end would promote a much improved atmosphere at all games. Even a relatively small crowd would be capable of making themselves heard, with chants and singing much more likely to spread with the roof acting as an amplifier. The overall height of these 3 sides could coincide with that of the Goodison Road side, thus ending the isolation felt by many of the patrons of the Top Balcony, who could be forgiven for sometimes being distracted by the panoramic views that their seats offer. With all 4 sides of equal height, a fully aligned roof could be erected, continuing around the whole stadium. The towering stands would combine to create the finest, and certainly the most impressive arena in Britain, with the potential for the most intimidating atmosphere. For years Evertonians travelling to away matches, have seized every opportunity to congregate under stand’s roofs and test the acoustics. This phenomenon was even more apparent at the annual visit to Anfield, when several thousand would somehow lay claim to a small section of the Kop, and then proceed to show the natives how it was done. The new Park Stand provided Evertonians with their first real opportunity at Goodison, to sit directly beneath a large roof in sufficient numbers to generate a good atmosphere. The result has been an overall improvement in the atmosphere around the whole ground, and has I feel been no small factor in the increased attendances. The changes to the ground that I have illustrated, would further improve the atmosphere and capture the imagination of all potential fans. The Double-decker stand is synonymous with Goodison Park and this tradition would be preserved, continuing to provide views at ground level, whilst much increasing the number of superior elevated seats. True multi-tier arrangement (i.e.: upper stand literally above or over-hanging lower section), by virtue of its design, is more economical on space than a single tier stand of the same capacity, bringing spectators much closer to the pitch, and ensuring that recommended viewing distances are not exceeded.
For the redevelopment to be complete, and for Goodison to truly boast the finest facilities, the Goodison Road side (Main stand) would also require several modifications, although this work would be minor in comparison to the other sides. At present the Main stand is something of a 1970’s eyesore. Its general appearance suffers from being odd-shaped and poorly proportioned, caused by the line of the street behind and the insistence on three tiers instead of two. The viewing performance of this side is mixed: The Top Balcony for the most part providing excellent views, as does the majority of the front half of the main stand itself. The rear section however, suffers from a ludicrous number of obstructed seats due to the second line of supporting columns, and the Enclosure is merely a seated terrace, of consequently shallow rake, and offering poor sight lines. To further compound the problems, the "lean-to" Exec-boxes are not only unsightly, but also ill-conceived, offering a poor vantage point for their clients (hardly Executive facilities). These deficiencies could all be eradicated within the present structure, and the profile of the whole stand completely transformed at a relatively low cost. A slight reduction in the capacity of this side would be unavoidable, but this would be more than compensated around the other sides, with the resultant viewing-platform vastly improved in function and appearance, and comparable to its new neighbours.
My suggestion is as follows: The second line of columns causing the obstructions cannot be removed since they obviously support the Top Balcony. The obstructed views may be reduced by simply disposing of the area most affected, i.e. the rear most section of the Main stand, as shown in Fig. 7. ( approx. 2000 seats). This now redundant viewing area could then be converted to serve a new line of exec boxes that would be suspended beneath the Top Balcony, in a similar manner to the present police control and public address rooms and run the full length of the pitch. This would represent a much improved facility, offering a more desirable elevated view, with 2 or 3 rows of seats in each box increasing the executive accommodation. This would also have the effect of straightening the rear line of the main stand, instead of it appearing to sink into the Park-End, as at present. By continuing the rake of the main stand down to pitch level, and replacing the Enclosure (and present Exec-boxes), the new main stand would be a single lower tier section, being more substantial in appearance, less fragmented than at present, and improving the views from the front rows (see Fig. 8). Also, space reclaimed by eliminating the path at the rear of the Enclosure, and by removal of the present boxes, could I estimate amount to up to 1000 seats. Therefore, the overall reduction in capacity for this side may be no more than 1000, a small price to pay for what in effect would be a completely new stand, and more than compensated for around the other sides. At a later stage, support of the vast roof could be provided by a Goal-post (or cantilevered) arrangement, with the final front columns removed, thus disposing of all obstructed views.
Mail Tom on ECSTHUGH@livjm.ac.uk
ECSTHUGH@livjm.ac.ukMail Tony Lloyd on rtlloyd@easynet.co.uk
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