Everton fans raise new fears about exit routes from their £800m new stadium with bridge that ‘can’t handle crowd’s weight’ and train station that ‘can’t cope’ – even with a reduced capacity!

Everton fans have raised concerns about the exit routes from their new stadium after heading to the second test event at the £800m ground. 

On Sunday afternoon, 25,000 Toffees supporters gathered at Bramley-Moore Dock to witness their Under-21 side take on, and beat, Bolton Wanderers’ U21’s.

It was the second event that the club have held at the stadium as they look ahead to their eventual move from Goodison Park to the new stadium. 

However, similarly to their first test event, things did not go smoothly on the day and, afterwards, fans spoke out lack of infrastructure provided by the council.

Taking to social media, fans shared pictures and videos of Sandhills train station, situated next to the stadium, which appeared to be filled to the brim with supporters.

Taking aim over the planning surrounding the stadium and supporters’ travel routes to and from it, one fan wrote: ‘This needs sorting in my opinion. Having to stop every few steps because the bridge cant handle more weight. 

The second test event at Everton’s new Bramley-Moore Dock stadium was held on Sunday

Everton fans were left waiting after being told that a bridge ‘can’t handle crowd’s weight’

Pictured: The bridge in question on Regents Road, just ahead of Everton’s £800m stadium

‘This will be chaos at full capacity. They had 4 years to sort it’.

Their post was accompanied with a video of the situation, showing thousands of Everton fans attempting to cross the bridge. 

Another wrote: ‘Test event or not. It’s a joke and unsafe for everyone. @MetroMayorSteve pls sort all this. 

‘STOP the single lane main roads causing massive traffic issues and open up the roads nearby so people can park. Sandhills CANNOT cope otherwise and there WILL be a disaster on your watch’. 

One user, who responded to a post about Sandhills being ‘at a standstill’, wrote: ‘It is hilarious when you remember that this billion pound stadium has been in the making for years. 

‘A guaranteed 54,000+ pedestrians in the area every fortnight & the best the council could muster was a few railings at Sandhills & ridiculous parking restrictions. Amateur hour’.

Finally, another user said: ‘So transport can’t cope, trains overloaded, Sandhills too small, shuttle buses jammed in traffic and now you can’t even walk from town without a bottleneck bridge that won’t take the weight of supporters. 

‘Gross negligence in my opinion, test event or not, that’s no excuse’. 

Despite the issues that some supporters faced, it was overall successful day for the club as they welcomed fans through the doors at Bramley-Moore Dock for a second time. 

Mail Sport have reached out to Everton for comment. 

Everton fans quickly voiced their frustrations with the travel routes on social media

David Moyes’ side will move to the ground, which will hold more than 53,000 fans, next season

Supporters were warned ahead of the game that there will be planned evacuation drill before the full-time whistle. 

Explaining the decision, the club wrote on their website: ‘An evacuation exercise will be performed at Everton’s new stadium as part of the test event schedule that will enable the Club to obtain a safety licence for the 52,888-capacity waterfront venue.

‘The 25,000-plus supporters attending the stadium’s second test event – a friendly between the Blues’ Under-21s and Bolton Wanderers ‘B’ on Sunday 23 March – are to be asked to exit the stadium during the second half, before the full-time whistle.

‘The process will allow the emergency services and local authorities to monitor a large-scale evacuation from the Bramley-Moore Dock site and supporters attending the event are being asked to play their part in making the exercise a success.

‘The planned evacuation will signal the end of the match and supporters will not be allowed to return to the stadium. Attendees will be safely guided out of the stadium and will not be required to muster or congregate. Instead, once out of the stadium, fans will be encouraged to leave as they would if they were leaving after a game.

‘The Club is working with transport authorities to ensure local services are timed to manage the flow of people away from Bramley-Moore Dock as they exit the stadium.’

This is now the second time that Everton fans have taken aim at the council over their planning surrounding travel routes for supporters heading to the stadium. 

Last month, Everton fans voiced major concerns about the travel options for the club’s new Bramley-Moore Dock stadium after attending a test event.

Last month, fans faced similar issues as they attempted to enter the stadium at a test event

The Toffees’ new £800million, 52,888-seater stadium opened its doors for the first time to host Everton Under-18s’ clash with Wigan Under-18s. 

Wigan picked up a 2-1 win, but it was matters off the pitch that far greater raised alarm bells for the 10,000 supporters that made their way to Bramley-Moore Dock.

Several fans took to social media to express their worries about getting to the venue via Sandhills train station, with one insisting the current setup was a ‘disaster waiting to happen’ while slamming the club’s ‘fanzone’.

‘Sandhills is a disaster waiting to happen, you should be ashamed Portaloo city, “fanzone” absolute disgrace,’ one fan posted on X.

Another was in agreement, adding: ‘If we didn’t know already, we do now. Sandhills absolutely not fit for purpose. Needs a big and quick rethink @LCRMayor,’ while one supporter simply stated: ‘Observations from tonight. Do not use Sandhills’.

That message was reiterated by another match-goer who posted: ‘If that test event taught me anything its that @merseyrail are nowhere near ready for the volume of traffic on matchdays.

‘@lpoolcouncil you need to sort it before something bad happens.’