Nothing but the best is good enough

Wherever you look in Everton FC’s history, you’ll be greeted with the club motto, Nil Satis Nisi Optimum (nothing but the best is good enough), and never has it felt more fitting than it does with the club’s new stadium, built by Laing O’Rourke with sustainability and the community at front of mind.

Three-and-a-half years after the project began in 2021, the Laing O’Rourke team successfully handed the stadium over to Everton’s Executive Chairman Marc Watts and Interim CEO Colin Chong, ahead of schedule on 19 December 2024.

We take a deep dive into the stadium’s journey from construction to completion.

For the past two centuries, Bramley Moore Dock has stood as an iconic landmark in Liverpool. Transforming a dockyard constructed in 1848 to accommodate the largest ships globally into a world-class football stadium with a seating capacity of 52,888 for a Premier League club was an extraordinary feat achieved through remarkable engineering prowess, the dedication of highly skilled and talented individuals, off-site manufacturing capabilities, Laing O’Rourke’s integrated supply chain, and the use of cutting-edge digital technologies.

The team faced their first challenge of constructing a stadium on top of water. To do this Laing O’Rourke brought in 480,000 cubic metres of sand from the Irish Sea by boat and gradually infilled the dockyard with it.

Yet, before any of this work could begin there was the pre-match warm up for Laing O’Rourke. This 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. Twelve live munitions were identified during these searches which were all dealt with by the Army and 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.

And only then could all 480,000 cubic metres of sand required for the initial dock infill process be transported to the site. To prevent the need of thousands of trips up and down the motorway by HGVs, Laing O’Rourke used boats, taking the sand from the seabed, 20 miles out in the Irish Sea. Once complete, Laing O’Rourke had the foundations required to begin the construction of the stadium.

The spine of the team

A strong spine in a football team can often lead to a win. From the goalkeeper to the striker, each player needs to work together and communicate effectively throughout the game. With Laing O’Rourke’s integrated supply chain, the team was able to achieve this seamless collaboration.

Expanded Piling/Geotechnical arrived on site in October 2021 and were there for 10 months. During this time the team completed 2,776 piles, before casting the sub-structure to support the super-structure 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.

Expanded Piling successfully completed its work on time in July 2022, and now it was time for the ball to be passed up the pitch to Explore Manufacturing. Located near Worksop, Nottinghamshire, Explore Manufacturing is home to Laing O’Rourke’s off-site manufacturing facility for modern methods of construction.

Explore Manufacturing produced the first pre-cast concrete panels with Expanded installing them on site in December 2021. In total, Explore manufactured 564 twin walls, 651 columns, and 3,844 lattice planks at its off-site facility, delivering each component to site at the precise moment required for installation into position. By using this modern method of construction, Laing O’Rourke was able to save time, and provide certainty to Everton FC. And out of all the pre-cast panels installed, what’s most likely to catch your eye as you walk down Regent Road is the red brick facade covering the stadium’s exterior.

These facades were designed and arranged so they display elements of the historic Goodison Park latticework pioneered by the famous Scottish stadium architect, Archibald Leitch, and in total 731 were manufactured in Nottinghamshire and installed on site in just 11 months. This offsite manufacturing approach reduced the need for workers to install the facades brick by brick at height in varying weather conditions and provided certainty of delivery.

While the red bricks catch your eye from afar, once you walk into the grounds and reach the fan plaza, you’ll be swept away by the blue Kellen blocks displaying a rippling water pattern to match the River Mersey just a stone’s throw away. To create such a detailed piece of work, Laing O’Rourke relied on its stone mason specialist trading business, Vetter. In addition to the Kellen blocks, Vetter laid 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.

Another key player in the Laing O’Rourke team is Select. Select provided plant equipment for the project, including the four tower cranes that were used to construct the structural frame, together with several crawler cranes. The Select team also supplied the offices and welfare accommodation for the staff and workforce on site, which at its maximum was more than 550 people.

And finally, what may be considered the final piece of the team’s structure is Crown House Technologies (CHt). CHt and its manufacturing wing designed and manufactured MEP modules that enable the distribution of power, heating, ventilation, and water to all areas of the stadium. These were all manufactured offsite at its factory in Oldbury, and again transported to site to be installed in a quicker and safer manner. In total the company installed 260 MEP modules and 914 WCs.

Thanks to Laing O’Rourke’s integrated supply chain, the company was able to provide certainty to Everton FC over programme and the quality of the product.

VAR- Use of digital technologies

The Everton project was characterised by a determination to push the boundaries from the outset. As such, it embraced digital delivery. It was the first Laing O’Rourke project to implement a full Digital Build programme – that is, there were no traditional 2D drawings. Everything was coordinated through digital models. This was recognised nationally, winning a Digital Construction Award in 2023. The team won a second Digital Construction Award for its digital firestopping process – an automated model-based verification that all 15,000 potential fire penetration points in the stadium were compliant with fire safety rules. The project also employed the first digital immersive suite in the company. The suite enabled greater collaborative planning, giving a new clarity to site briefings and allowed the project to hold comprehensive site inductions, promoting safety.

Sustainability

While the aluminium roof, made up of 872 individual panels, might look like something out of a sci-fi movie, it is specifically perforated to mitigate the effects of the weather. The panel design has been rigorously tested after being subjected to wind speeds and rainwater in excess of what can be expected on Liverpool’s waterfront.

The design of the panels will result in rainwater draining into specifically installed channels and into two subterranean harvesting tanks located in the north-east corner of the stadium. From there, the water collected can be used for flushing the 914 WCs on site, and for watering and maintaining the playing surface.

The team used hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) instead of red diesel in their plant equipment throughout the project lifecycle, helping to reduce carbon emissions. Laing O’Rourke has since mandated the use of HVO on all its sites.

Another focus of the project was on the reduction of waste. The team managed to divert more than 99% of its construction waste and demolition waste from going to landfill.

The People’s Project

When Everton Football Club commissioned its new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, creating a social value plan that focused on delivering value to local people and the community was an absolute priority. After all, the build was termed “The People’s Project” for a reason.

A comprehensive plan was created by Laing O’Rourke in consultation with Liverpool City Council and Everton Football Club in 2019, drawing on strong local links with organisations including Everton in the Community, Liverpool in Work and the Docklands Trail.

During a three-year period, that social value plan has brought numerous initiatives to life that have given the people of Liverpool and Merseyside opportunities to develop skills, gain employment and engage with Everton Stadium before it opens its doors.

The project provided:

And 178 weeks since the team started on site, construction of a modern-day stadium fit for one of the oldest clubs in English Football is complete. Having taken possession of the site the Club will oversee the six-month fit-out phase, beginning from the start of 2025.

The final words go to the Club’s Executive Chairman and Interim CEO.

Everton FC will officially move into the stadium at the start of the 25/26 season where they’ll begin the next chapters in the club’s history. Nil Satis Nisi Optimum.