First couple to marry at Goodison Park 'sad' to see stadium go

Alyson and Del Thornton were married on 19 June 1999

A couple who were the first to marry at a football ground say they have mixed emotions ahead of the stadium's demolition next year.

Alyson and Del Thornton got married at Everton's Goodison Park on 19 June 1999 after fan Del spotted an advert in The Evertonian magazine announcing the club now had a licence to hold weddings.

"I'd always said I didn't want to get married in a church," Alyson said.

"I wanted no fuss and I just said to Del: 'You just sort it out and tell me where and when' - which was quite brave of me really."

The couple say they will be "sad" when the place they got married is gone

Del said he contacted the club to arrange a date and said "it just so happened that we were the first couple".

"I thought: 'Well she said I could pick where we get married', so I went for it!" he added.

However it didn't turn out to be the lowkey event Aly had hoped for as the local newspaper turned up to cover the historic moment.

"We had the Liverpool Echo come over to take photos and ended up in the paper," Aly said.

Now, as they celebrate being married for 25 years, the couple have returned to the stadium to reminisce ahead of the club's last season at the ground.

Everton Football Club will move from Goodison Park at the end of next season

"Now we are coming into the last ever season at Goodison, it's all become quite real," Del said.

"I think there will be a lot of tears from lots of people but I'll have that extra thing of the fact we got married here and that's going and we won't ever be coming back here again," he said.

"I am excited about us going to the new stadium of course, but I'm also a bit sad that the place where we got married will be gone."

Everton are set to move to a new home at Bramley-Moore Dock for the 2025-26 season while the current Goodison Park site will be redeveloped.