A keepsake for a once-in-a-lifetime opener
After 133 years at Goodison Park, Everton’s next chapter starts on the Liverpool waterfront. The club has opened orders for a special 100-page commemorative matchday programme to mark the first Premier League game at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday, 24 August 2025, against Brighton & Hove Albion.
The programme is designed as a time capsule for a day fans have waited generations to see. It carries a bespoke cover celebrating the stadium’s official opening and a rich set of features that track the long road from Goodison to Bramley-Moore Dock. Everton says this is more than a souvenir—it’s something supporters will want to keep for decades.
Inside, there’s a deep dive into the architecture and design of the club’s new home, which is set to be the eighth largest stadium in England with a capacity north of 52,000. The build has transformed a landmark site on the Mersey, and the programme shows that journey with never-before-seen construction photos taken throughout the project.
There’s also a full retrospective on Goodison Park—more than a century of matchdays, milestones, and memories. Club historian David France contributes a special section that looks beyond results and silverware to what Goodison meant to supporters and the city. It’s an emotional read for anyone who grew up under those floodlights.
Supporters will find interviews with the key people behind the new ground—designers, engineers, planners, and club leaders—explaining how decisions were made and what the stadium promises on sound, sightlines, accessibility, and atmosphere. The club’s football staff add tactical insight ahead of the opener with Brighton, outlining what to expect on the pitch as Everton settle into their new surroundings.
There’s matchday content too: full squad profiles for Everton and Brighton, form lines, head-to-head notes, and a clear-eyed analysis of how both sides like to play. The aim is to capture the mood of a unique fixture while still providing the practical pre-match read fans expect.
Colin Chong, the club’s Chief Commercial Officer, sets the tone in his foreword: “This is more than just a matchday programme – it’s a permanent keepsake that captures one of the most significant moments in Everton’s 145-year history. We want every supporter to have the opportunity to own this piece of Everton memorabilia that commemorates our arrival at our magnificent new home.”
The programme will be available in both print and digital formats for the first time, giving fans a choice of how they want to collect. The print edition is priced at £5, while a premium collector’s version costs £10 and comes on higher-grade paper with extra content. Orders placed before Thursday, 21 August are guaranteed to arrive before the match and will include a numbered certificate confirming it as the official inaugural publication for the Premier League opener at the new ground. Season ticket holders will receive their copy automatically as part of their matchday pack.
For those going digital, the mobile edition mirrors the print version but is built for reading on the go—handy for fans traveling in or watching from abroad. It’s also a solution for collectors who want to preserve the print copy in mint condition while having a version to read cover to cover.
- 100 pages with exclusive cover artwork for the first game at the new stadium
- Unseen construction photography from the build at Bramley-Moore Dock
- Detailed features on design, acoustics, and matchday experience
- Club historian David France on the long goodbye to Goodison Park
- Interviews with the project team and senior club figures
- Everton and Brighton squad profiles and tactical breakdown
- Numbered certificate for orders placed before 21 August
- Available in print and as a dedicated digital edition
What the move means—and how to get yours
Opening day is about more than kick-off. The move to Bramley-Moore Dock changes how Everton experiences football in the city. The stadium is built to keep the noise in and the sightlines clear, with the seating bowl designed to bring fans closer to the action. It’s a modern venue with a nod to the dockside’s industrial past, and it has the scale to host major events—UEFA Euro 2028 matches are already on the slate.
For supporters, the programme tells both sides of that story. It maps the final steps from Goodison to the riverfront and shows how the club plans to keep its identity intact in a bigger, louder home. Expect timelines of key build phases, behind-the-scenes notes from the construction team, and smart little details fans might have missed—how the bowl shape shapes the noise, how the concourses are laid out, and where accessibility upgrades make a difference on a busy matchday.
The Brighton game is a fitting first test. The programme’s football section looks at the key matchups and what an opening whistle in a new home usually does to tempo, nerves, and game management. It doesn’t promise fairy tales, but it gives readers a clear sense of what will matter on the pitch and how the crowd can lift a side still learning its new angles.
The club has kept the buying process simple. Fans can order through the official channels up to Thursday, 21 August, with delivery guaranteed before the game. If you’re a season ticket holder, you don’t need to do anything—your copy is included with your matchday pack. International supporters who want a physical keepsake can opt for the digital version if shipping timelines are tight.
The premium edition is aimed at collectors. It runs on heavier stock, includes extra pages, and is packaged to last. If you’ve got a shelf of big Everton moments—FA Cup finals, title seasons, European nights—this one sits with them. The standard edition carries the full core content at a lower price, which will suit fans who plan to read it on the train or in the pub before kick-off.
Beyond opening day, the programme doubles as a record for the stadium’s firsts: the first goal, the first clean sheet, the first night game, and those early moments that end up defining a home. The club has designed it to age well—carefully chosen photography, clean layouts, and context that will still make sense when someone pulls it down in ten years’ time.
Everton’s editors have also given space to supporters’ voices, reflecting the emotions of leaving a beloved old ground and embracing a new one. The tone is honest, sometimes nostalgic, but forward-looking. It reads like what it is—a handover from one era to the next.
Practical details at a glance: the standard edition costs £5, the premium collector’s version is £10, and both formats cover the full match build-up. Orders placed before the 21 August deadline include that numbered certificate, confirming this specific print as part of the historic first issue. The digital edition goes live alongside the print run, ready for phones and tablets.
Everton’s move to the river has been years in the making. This programme captures the finish line—and the starting gun. If you’re heading to the opener or watching from home, it’s the piece of the day you can hold onto long after the final whistle.