Goodison Park

Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds. The stadium is built in a residential area served by regular rail and bus services two miles (3 km) from Liverpool city centre.

Goodison has undergone many changes over the years and it presently has an all-seated capacity of 40,157. Everton fans refer to the stadium as "The Grand Old Lady" and the abridged "Goodison".

It has hosted more top-flight games than any other stadium in England. Goodison has hosted the maximum number of league games since the Premier League was formed in 1992, as Everton have remained in the top tier of English football since 1954. The club has only been outside the top division for four seasons, having only been relegated twice (in 1930 and 1951).

As well as hosting Everton games, the stadium has been the venue for an FA Cup Final and numerous international fixtures, including several in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. The record for the highest attendance in women's football was set at Goodison Park in 1920, which stood for 92 years until 31st July 2012. This game's high attendance resulted in women's football being banned by the Football Association for 50 years as they felt it threatened the men's game.

Goodison Park was conceived in unusual circumstances: two factions of politicians on the Everton board grappled to control the destiny of the club. A split emerged with the members with the majority leaving their home at Anfield forming Goodison Park. Everton F.C.'s relocation to Goodison Park was one of the earliest cases of a team moving to a new stadium for monetary benefit.

Read more about Goodison Park:  Current Structure, The Future, Transport, Records, Attendances, Other Uses

Famous quotes containing the word park:

    The label of liberalism is hardly a sentence to public igominy: otherwise Bruce Springsteen would still be rehabilitating used Cadillacs in Asbury Park and Jane Fonda, for all we know, would be just another overweight housewife.
    Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)