Plans for a ‘fan zone’ serving Everton’s new stadium have been revealed.
Merseytravel’s proposal for its Sandhills station is designed to handle crowd management around the club’s upcoming switch to Bramley-Moore Dock.
The Toffees move into their new home in August 2025 after 133 years at Goodison Park and will see an increased footfall due to a 52,888 capacity.
Sandhills will become a key transport hub for match goers as the nearest station, which has driven Merseytravel’s application to Liverpool City Council.
The proposed area bordering the station sits on land owned by Merseytravel and would be used in the immediate period after matches and major events.
When not in use it will revert to its current use as storage for rail replacement equipment or activity related to the operation of rail replacement bus services.
An operational management statement said: “The results of this work indicate that although the platforms at Sandhills and the trains serving the station could accommodate and process the volume of predicted additional passengers expected to use the services in a reasonable time period, the access to the platforms is constrained, and this places a limitation on the number of passengers that can access/egress the platform at times of likely high demand.” The proposed solution is to develop a new pedestrian waiting area dedicated and specifically designed to accommodate and safely manage passengers at periods of peak demand.”
Liverpool City Council’s planning department have yet to confirm a date on which the proposal will be decided.