Hill Dickinson Stadium

Everton's ground holds 52,769, and the club is unusually specific about why it is not 52,888. The design figure was audited down by 119 seats after construction finished. Away supporters sit in the north-east corner, entering at block 24, in a section rail-seated throughout with a concourse of its own.

Capacity — 52,769, after 119 seats went missing on purpose

Everton state the figure as the official capacity for Premier League fixtures and sporting events, and explain the reduction rather than quietly publishing a smaller number. The initial designated capacity, set in a design finalised five years earlier, was 52,888. A post-construction audit of the seating configuration cut it by 0.2%.

What consumed those 119 seats is the interesting part, because it is the same list at every modern ground and almost nobody itemises it: segregation lines between the home and away sections, and compliance provision for media facilities and camera positions. A stadium's drawn capacity and its licensed capacity differ by exactly this sort of accounting, and Everton's announcement is a rare public worked example. The club also noted that no season ticket seats were affected — the reduction came out of areas nobody had bought.

This is not a disputed capacity. 52,888 was a design figure for a building that did not exist yet and 52,769 is the ground that got built, so the two describe different things rather than disagreeing about one. It is recorded here as a capacity concept, not a conflict.

Where do away fans sit at the Hill Dickinson Stadium?

Visiting supporters are in the north-east corner of the ground, in a section that straddles the North Stand. Away turnstiles are at block 24 on the North Stand, and the away ticket office sits next to turnstile 24, opening three hours before kick-off. Visitors are directed to enter the stadium footprint through Gate E, which is the closest gate to away coach parking on Regent Road.

The seated visitors' section is fitted with rail seating throughout — so an away ticket here is a barrier-seating ticket by default rather than in a designated block, which is still unusual in the Premier League. Turnstiles open two hours before kick-off, and the Budweiser Plaza that all turnstiles are reached through opens an hour before that. Sniffer dogs are used at the turnstiles alongside ticket checks and bag searches, and anyone under 14 must be with an adult over 18 or is refused entry.

Visiting supporters get a dedicated concourse on Level 1 with three male and three female toilet blocks, two accessible toilets and one gender neutral, a first aid room and a Faith Room. Away coaches park free on Regent Road north of the stadium, beyond the home coaches, and are best approached from the north via Derby Road and Boundary Street.

Accessibility in the away end

An accessible lift beside the away turnstiles serves the concourse on request, and one of the stadium's three Changing Places facilities is on Level 0 in the north-east corner, reached just inside Entrance 24 — so away supporters are not sent across the ground to use one.

Two provisions are worth knowing about in advance because both need booking. Everton offer audio descriptive commentary to home and visiting supporters alike, with the receiver left with accessibility stewards in the away stand — you bring your own headphones, since it takes a standard 3.5mm jack. And sensory packs containing ear defenders, fidget pads, a stress ball and a light-up baton are left with the same stewards, on a first-come basis, bookable by email before the fixture. There is also in-seat catering for every wheelchair bay in the ground, ordered on a form and delivered before half-time.

Sources and verification