Everton Fan View: How big should new stadium be?

Everton Football Club are getting a new stadium, hopefully. There are still many hurdles to jump in order to be able to walk into a new home, but the signs are good that there won’t be too many problems along the way.

It seems as though the Everton fans’ voice has already been heard when it comes to the design of the stadium, as it seems the message has got through that we want a football stadium where the fans are close to the pitch and a stadium where the atmosphere isn’t lost.

The architect on the project, Dan Meis, has seemed to have welcomed fan opinion with open arms. Everton have recently released a survey asking for fan opinion on certain aspects of the stadium. In tweeting about that survey recently, Meis suggested it’d be good to get “61,878” responses to it, which sparked speculation as to whether that’d be the capacity of the new stadium.

READ MORE: Allardyce wants future at Everton beyond rescue mission

READ MORE: Stunning Deeney finish moves hosts six clear of trouble

READ MORE: Deeney ‘not bothered’ after ending drought from open play

The significance being that Everton were formed in 1878, but it’s the number at the start which is the key figure. How big should Everton’s stadium be? It has been hotly debated. Everton clearly have a capacity for ticket sales a lot greater than the 39,572 that Goodison Park holds, considering how often it is sold out.

Not just about ticket sales

For me, though, it equally becomes as much about ticket sales as it does about atmosphere. At what point does a stadium get too big to retain any sort of intense atmosphere? I’ve been to Wembley, which is too big, been to Old Trafford, which is too big, and been to the Etihad Stadium, which is too open.

On the opposite side, Juventus built their new stadium in 2011 and deliberately kept the capacity small so that it could retain that passion during the game. Their capacity on 41,470, however, you’d think would be a bit too low.

Given the passion for the club, and the thirst for ticket sales, I think a capacity of around 55k would be ideal. The likes of Celtic Park and Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion show that intense atmosphere can be found in bigger grounds. If it was the 61,878 that was teased by Dan Meis, I’m not sure that would be too big, either.

Everton’s ticket sales are very healthy, even with currently a poor product on the pitch. The new stadium needs to find a balance between sales and giving the fans a platform for that bear pit that Goodison can be when it’s at its best.