Situated on Liverpool’s world-famous waterfront, the new 52,888-seater football stadium for Everton FC will be the catalyst for the regeneration of North Liverpool.
Everton Stadium FC- Project Name Everton Stadium Football Club
- Client Everton Stadium Development Ltd
- Location Liverpool
- Status In progress
Forecasts estimate it will generate a £1.3 billion boost to the local economy, create thousands of jobs, and attract 1.4 million visitors to the city each year.
It is being built with sustainability and the local community front of mind. The stadium is a short distance from the city centre, meaning fans will be able to walk or take public transport to the venue, and throughout its construction our team will be working with a range of on-the-ground organisations to create skills and learning opportunities for local people.
Laing O’Rourke is the main contractor on the £555 million stadium and is using the power of experience held within its in-house supply chain to help efficiently deliver a hugely complex football stadium on time and in budget.
Laing O’Rourke was appointed as preferred bidder by Everton Football Club in February 2020 with the main construction contract signed in April 2021.
With a long track record in delivering world-class sports stadia, Laing O’Rourke initially worked alongside the club to develop a detailed and robust design, to support the club in the complex planning process, to address the many interfaces with third parties and approving authorities, and to develop an ambitious delivery programme that would enable the first match to be played there during the 2024/25 season.
The 52,888-seater stadium will have four distinctive stands, including a large, steep ‘home end’ which will house 13,000 Evertonians.
The first phase of enabling works began in July 2021, with a project commencement ceremony held in August 2021 to mark the official breaking of ground in the construction of the new stadium.
Laing O’Rourke’s integrated team set about preparing the dock site for the build. Work included the repair and preservation of the Grade II listed dock wall, stabilising the similarly listed hydraulic tower located on the site, the establishment of welfare facilities, the demolition of existing non-listed structures, and raking of the dock floor to remove shallow debris lying on the bottom of the dock, before searching for unexploded ordnance from World War II. 12 live munitions were identified during these searches which were all dealt with by the Army or Navy Bomb Disposal teams via controlled explosions on site.
In preparation of infilling the dock with sand, fish were rescued and re-located to adjacent water bodies, replacement resting pontoons were installed in a neighbouring dock for marine birds, and the large diameter pipework used for the infilling was installed around the dock perimeter and into The River Mersey.
Once the initial works were complete, the team began the process of infilling the dock with 450,000 cubic metres of sand being dredged from the Irish Sea and pumped into the dock. Infilling the dock transformed the site from a maritime port operation to forming the platform upon which the stadium would be built.
The project continues to progress on schedule, with key milestones being achieved.
The Power of Experience
This is a project that draws upon the experience of each business that makes up Laing O’Rourke’s integrated supply chain:
Laing O’Rourke’s Construction team: the main contracting team is responsible for the delivery of the new stadium.
Crown House Technologies: designed and manufactured MEP modules that, once installed, will enable the distribution of power, heating, ventilation, and water to all areas of the stadium.
Expanded: installed more than 2700 pile foundations, before casting the sub-structure to support the superstructure of the new stadium, while also being responsible for the installation of the many thousands of pre-cast concrete components which form the main structure, and the installation of the below ground infrastructure and utilities.
Explore Manufacturing: Laing O’Rourke’s Centre of Excellence for Modern Construction will manufacture more than 6,000 components for the new stadium, including the pre-cast composite red brick façade panels that have been designed to remind fans of the historic Archibald Leitch designed wrought iron trusses at Goodison Park.
Select: is providing plant equipment for the project, including the four tower cranes that have been used to construct the structural frame, together with several crawler cranes. The Select team has also supplied the offices and welfare accommodation for the staff and workforce on site, which is now more than 550 people.
Vetter: Laing O’Rourke’s inhouse specialist stone masons will lay more than 30,000 sqm of paving to create the external fan zone areas around the stadium, consisting of new paving and re-claimed granite setts removed from the dock wharfs as part of the site clearance works.
A transformative project
It is estimated that The People’s Project – the combination of Everton’s planned new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock and the delivery of a community-led legacy at Goodison Park - will deliver nearly £800m of societal value during a 10-year period. This will be supported by Everton, the Club’s official charity Everton in the Community, and Laing O’Rourke working in partnership to make sure the people and businesses of Merseyside benefit via employment, apprenticeship, training, and supply chain opportunities.
As a local employer, and as a contractor that’s rooted in the local environment, this is a huge project for us. I’m full of excitement and the team are raring to go.
During the project’s groundbreaking ceremony in August 2021, Paul McNerney, our Director of UK Building, said: “As a local employer, and as a contractor that’s rooted in the local environment, this is a huge project for us. I’m full of excitement and the team are raring to go.
“At Laing O’Rourke, we have a huge workforce, but no doubt we’ll have to grow that team. So there are opportunities for local employment – we’ll connect with Everton in the Community and use that as a vehicle to bring people to the project, and it’s an opportunity for training, for apprenticeships, and for the development of a workforce in the area.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime project and the people we have in the team are extremely proud to be involved.
“No doubt, when they look back at their careers, the Everton stadium will be the project that stands out for them.”