Everton Stadium structurally complete

The final terracing panel has been installed to complete the structural work within the bowl of Everton Stadium.

The final piece of the huge jigsaw was lowered into place in the east stand last week, ending 18 months of complex work since the first concrete terrace was positioned on the steel frame in August 2022.

Gareth Jacques, Laing O’Rourke’s Project Director, confirmed: “Structurally, that is the stadium bowl complete. When you consider that alongside the terracing, the team have also done the structural steel and precast concrete in the four stands, it is a fantastic achievement.

“Because we use modern methods of construction and need to fix our design to go to fabrication early, the team worked really hard in the early stages of the project.

The terrace units, averaging just under 9.5 tonnes in weight, have each been meticulously lifted into place over the past 18 months, secured with a high-strength grout and then made weatherproof with a special sealant.”

Mr Jacques added: “The double-stepped units are something we haven’t done before. In previous stadiums we have built, it has been a single-step arrangement, but there are a few reasons for developing the new method here.

“One was that, we were always aware of the exposed location of the site, and plenty of our engineered solutions have been done to reduce the risk of weather and lifting.

“The double-stepped terracing significantly reduces the amount of lifts needed and cuts down the time working on site, often at heights.”

Forming the frame for two of the stands as well as the entire roof structure, Severfield has fabricated, supplied and erected 12,500t of steelwork for the project, which is on course to complete by the end of the year.