As we approach the final days of Goodison Park, before the much-anticipated move to Bramley Moor docks, we wanted to give a bit of a tribute to the grand old lady and revisit some of the memorable moments seen there over the years.
Built and opened in August 1892, Goodison was considered the most advanced and major stadium in England at the time. It had a further buildout in 1907, with a double-decker stand designed by the famous architect Archibold Leitch. Leitch was an iconic designer of some of the most iconic stadiums in English and Scottish football, with iconic stadiums for Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Rangers.
Goodison Park hosted FA Cup final replays, was visited by the King, saw crowds of 69,000 attend, and even saw drill training during the First World War.
Damaged quite badly during Second World War bombings, the rebuild enabled Goodison’s biggest ever recorded crowd of 78,299 when Liverpool visited in September 1948
Goodison Park played a major role in the 1966 World Cup, with only Wembley hosting more games.
In 1971 the Main Stand was built, and the impressive triple-decker construction we still see today. Many more changes occurred to modernise the stadium and make it safer and more compliant in the wake of the Taylor Report and the move to all-seater stadiums.
Despite these modernisations, Goodison Park has remained a fan favourite for many clubs and away days there have been more and more unique and special as the old style stadiums have been replaced by modern stadiums.
Whilst the passing of time never stops and nothing ever lasts forever, especially in football, Goodison Park has had some innings and seen some incredible moments over the years. It will be a sad loss for the fans.
We hope our two retro-style designs of the inside and outside of Goodison Park bring back some good memories to fans old and new. We will have to do a new design for Bramley Moor Docks, but for now we will savour the final days and games to be played at Goodison.
