Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium is rumoured to be a venue for the Rugby League Grand Final in 2026.
The Rugby League Grand Final is usually held at Manchester United’s Old Trafford, and over 68,000 fans attended the clash between Hull KR and Wigan Warriors last month.
Everton have started to dip their toe in the Rugby scene, as the Hill Dickinson Stadium hosted England vs Australia in the Ashes series.
That’s led to rumours that they could potentially replace Old Trafford as the Grand Final host next October after a successful first Rugby event last weekend.
Fans of the sport have a lot to say about that, though, as they’ve swarmed to social media to react to the rumour.
Rugby League fans have mixed opinions about the Hill Dickinson hosting the Grand Final
There has been some discourse on X, formerly known as Twitter, about whether Everton’s 52,000-seater stadium is too small to host the Grand Final.
Many have responded to the post above and have shared contrasting opinions.
@will_hcafc_ replied: “The only way a GF would work there is if it were 2 “smaller” teams eg. Hudds cas etc. Would be a bad move to move away from OT/ something of similar capacity right now.”
@Alex_Clarkson1 commented: “Lots of neutrals go to the grand final, I personally think the grand final at Everton would be brilliant, split straight down the middle here, maybe just maybe it might bring the attendances back at the Challenge Cup final???”
“I just think a sellout 52k packed to the rafters creates supply and demand. It’ll be an event nobody would want to miss. It would be near enough full, even if Catalans made it again. If not the GF then a CC semi final double header would be great here,” @obwales explained.
“There’s potential to expand the stadium to 60k, which I think would be a fair GF capacity. I’d like to see a trial run of magic weekends and/or CC semis/final with the possible agreement of being a GF venue if/when the capacity increases,” @Playingablinder said.
@evertonandy1878 posted: “could you imagine a Saints and Wigan final here by the way, both clubs less than 20 mile away, the two biggest clubs and biggest rivalry in rugby league, would be special.”
“Wouldn’t automatically lead to less profit, depends on ticket prices. Also any deal worked out with Everton, who are setup much better to profit from its through hospitality, food and drink sales. Maybe a buzz around sell out and people not being able to buy Groupon tickets is needed,” @John_1865 admitted.
Hill Dickinson also set to be a venue for Euro 2028
As well as Rugby events, Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium will also be a venue for the European Championships in 2028.
Speaking exclusively to Everton News, finance expert Adam Williams explained that whilst the club won’t benefit massively financially, it will have a significant influence on their brand.
“I believe that they get a modest rental fee from UEFA for the use of the stadium and the hospitality facilities and so on, but it won’t be much,” Williams said.
“So this is going to be all about developing the brand. That’s not to be sniffed at. The fact that Aston Villa and Man City, for example, have aligned the timelines for their stadium expansion projects with Euro 2028 tells you that clubs value this exposure.
“Everton are at year zero commercially after the move to Bramley Moore Dock – they’re redeveloping their ‘brand’ and so far have been successful in getting blue-chip sponsors on board. Hosting matches at this tournament is part of that patchwork approach.”
The Hill Dickinson will also host other events like Christmas markets and music festivals, so there are certainly exciting times on the horizon for the Toffees.
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