Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium is gearing up to host its first non-football sporting event as the rugby league Ashes arrives on Merseyside.
The 52,000 capacity Bramley-Moore Dock venue is the newest in the Premier League, hosting its first trial match in February, and will this weekend add a new sport to its roster.
England head to Liverpool 1-0 down in the first Ashes series in two decades after Australia romped their way to victory at Wembley last weekend.
The three-Test series will conclude next weekend at Leeds Rhinos’ Headingley.
When rugby league heads to Premier League grounds in the north, it tends to be to Old Trafford for the Super League Grand Final or St James’ Park and Elland Road for Magic Weekend.
But Everton’s new arena will play host to the potential Ashes decider on Saturday.
Everton to host rugby league
“We felt we needed a big stadium in the North, and the North West is blessed with stadiums, and then the obvious one was Everton,” Rugby League Commercial boss Rhodri Jones told the Liverpool Echo.
“We could see that the national stadium was available, and we wanted to go to Headingley, which gave us some opportunities in the north west.
“With Everton being a new stadium in the north west, we felt we were in a good place, with a strong proposition to approach Everton and ask the question if they would be interested in hosting a rugby league game.
“We were warmly received and that enabled us to agree terms and get us at Everton for the launch of the Test series.”
The Ashes series set a new UK crowd record at Wembley Stadium last week, with 60,000 – including Dazn chief executive Shay Segev, England Test cricket captain Ben Stokes and various politicians – showing up at the national stadium.
The Hill Dickinson Stadium will stage matches during Euro 2028 Championships.