Ordnance Survey (OS) has been capturing the final details of the nation’s newest football stadium and pitch for the master map of Great Britain.
Everton Football Club’s new 52,888-capacity stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock in Liverpool is replacing Goodison Park as the home ground for the Toffees. In build since July 2021, the new ground has just hosted the first of three test events before officially opening at the start of the 2025/26 Premier League season in August.
As the site developed, Britain’s national mapping service has been responsible for capturing it for the nation’s maps and the OS National Geographic Database (NGD), the digital master map of the nation.
Every day, OS captures Britain’s changing land and features to cm accuracy. Flying the length and breadth of Britain, it surveys from above, capturing and processing thousands of 3D images to keep our maps up to date. Since 2023, OS has flown over the stadium site by plane and drone to build up a picture of the new ground. And now, as the site’s build is ready for occupation, further data has been captured by field surveyors on the ground to ensure the pitch, and final details, such as access points for the benefit of emergency services, have been locked in.
Last but not least, this final survey work meant putting the name of the new stadium on the map. Club Ambassador Graham Stuart and club legend Peter Reid were there to celebrate the moment, which means the site will be identified on OS digital maps and in the next edition of paper maps.
Accurately mapping something as significant as a new Premier League football stadium is hugely important to the hundreds of thousands of fans who will travel to the waterfront venue over time, as well as the multitude of staff and service providers who will be operating the site. There are public transport links outside the ground, which will contain bars, restaurants, and retail areas. Over time, surveyors have captured infrastructure around the stadium and utility information down to the smallest detail.
Head of Production at OS, Paul Cruddace said: “As Britain’s mapping experts, we’ve been weaving location data into the very fabric of our everyday lives. Whether it’s our OS Maps app getting a walker safely up a mountain, providing expert data to the biggest mortgage lenders in GB, or capturing new features such as new build housing developments or a major new football stadium. Everton Football Club has a rich history and continues to make a huge contribution to the nation’s passion for football. It’s a great honour to put the new stadium on the map for the club, its fans, and the city of Liverpool.”
Everton’s new stadium is a bowl design and is constructed of steel, brick, and glass, with the existing dock being filled with reclaimed sand from the Irish Sea. Once opened, the stadium will become the eighth largest in England and is already set as a host venue for UEFA Euro 2028.
