Ray Parr bought the property in 1998 and has done something very distinctive with it
Ray Parr bought the property in 1998 and has done something very distinctive with it
From the outside, 9 Goodison Road is a normal house. Standing opposite Goodison Park, it blends in with the rows of terraces that surround the famous old ground.
Step inside, walk through the door on your left and things are very different, however. The property’s ground floor is home to the Striker’s Suite, a matchday executive lounge for Evertonians. It is decked out with football memorabilia and has been owned and operated by retired building surveyor and lifelong Blue Ray Parr, 79, since 1998.
Ray, who was born in Kensington but lives in Formby, has been coming to Goodison Park for as long as he can remember. He got to the stage where he shared a box at the ground with a friend but when the price increased in 1998, they decided to do something different.
He told the ECHO: “I shared a box with one of my mates. They put it up to £45,000 in 1998 and my business was property anyway, so I thought, let’s go and buy a house across the road for half that price.
“We could convert it and take the lads over and we could do our own thing. I had loads of contacts, so I bought this place, did a nice little flat upstairs and 12 of us came over to use the ground floor.”
Upstairs houses a one-bedroom flat but the Striker’s Suite has taken over the ground level of the property. It has a fridge stocked with beers and wines while its walls are adorned with football (mostly Everton) heritage, including items signed and presented to the suite by Blues legends Duncan Ferguson, Andy Gray and Graeme Sharp, as well as a Brazil shirt signed by iconic midfielder Kaka.
Extra memorabilia purchased from eBay include signed Wayne Rooney, Pele and Lionel Messi shirts. In the centre of the room is a dining table for more than 20, with a former Goodison boardroom chair at its head. Tucked away in the corner is the kitchen.
Its most important section – Howard’s Corner – is dedicated to Everton midfield great and the club’s most successful manager Howard Kendall, who led the Toffees to success in the 1980s glory days. Howard, who died in October 2015 at the age of 69, was a friend of Ray’s and a regular attendee at the suite.
As he walked the ECHO through his collection, Ray, whose connections with Everton saw him chair testimonial committees for players including Kevin Ratcliffe, Dave Watson and the aforementioned Scottish strikers Sharp and Ferguson, pointed out one particular highlight.
He said: “This is a copy of the original contract between Everton and Birmingham when Howard went with Archie Styles for Bob Latchford. There’s workings out in the corner. It’s good isn’t it. Bob’s been in here loads of times, Howard was in here all the time.”
The copy of the contract shows the £350,000 fee – a British record at the time – for Latchford, along with the swap deal for Styles. Subtractions can be seen in the top left corner as they got the deal sorted.
As he walked further down the room, Ray explained the origin of the shirt signed by AC Milan and Real Madrid star Kaka. He said: “This is probably the best one – Kaka, signed to the Striker’s Suite.
“One of the members, Ian, his son in law is involved with adverts, doing videos for them. Kaka was in one of the adverts, we’ve got a photo of him actually signing the shirt.”
The matchdays
Like any hospitality lounge, members get to the Striker’s Suite some time before kick off. They enjoy their food and drink and then making the short walk across Goodison Road to the Grand Old Lady, they watch the Blues and then return afterwards.
Explaining the process, Ray said: “What happens here with the membership is they can come in two hours before the game starts, it’s all good stuff, good wines and beers. We’ve got Guinness, real ales, bitter, cider, lager, a little bottle of Jack Daniel’s, a great selection of white wines, and all your reds. Whatever you want.
“Nobody gets drunk. You sit down to a really superb meal. Our chef has cooked for the Royal Family, he has been Tiger Woods’ personal chef for the Open. He’s well-respected.
“We have a nice two course meal – a starter and a main course or a main course and a pud. Then come back for an hour after the game, the bar is open. And it’s £50 a head all in.”
Flicking through the visitors’ book shows the list of Everton royalty who have enjoyed Ray’s hospitality. Among them are Neville Southall, Dave Hickson, Joe Royle and Pat Nevin.
But there are two guests who may come as a surprise. On the wall, next to a signed Ferguson shirt are photos of Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant and singer-songwriter Chris de Burgh at the suite, on separate visits.
“The people that we’ve had here are unbelievable”, said Ray. About Chris’ visit, Ray said: “I was chairman of the Variety Club and he did a turn there.
“It was derby day, he was looking for tickets, he’s a big red. I got him and his wife and children into a box, and then he came here – This is the meeting place.
“At the show before the game, I said there’s only one stipulation for the tickets. I said ‘Tonight, at the do, ‘Lady in Red’ is obviously going to come out but you’ve got to throw blue in there somewhere, otherwise I won’t be happy.
“What a lovely, lovely fella – and what a singer, by the way. He came on stage and sang ‘Lady in Red – and Blue, just for you’.”
Robert Plant’s visit was facilitated by Howard. Ray explained: “Robert Plant is vice president of Wolves. We were playing them. Howard invited Robert Plant back and again, what a lovely fella.
“The standouts are when the likes of these come in. Robert Plant coming in. He just stayed in the directors’ box and then came here.
“Howard used to bring them all in, he’d be in every home game. We used to pick him up in Formby, bring him out, have a few drinks here and take him across.”
Ray is very proud of what he has done with 9 Goodison Road. He showed the ECHO a copy of Sky Sports reporter Johnny Phillips’s book ‘Saturday Afternoon Fever: A Year On The Road For Soccer Saturday’, in which he went around all the lounges in the Premier League. The chapter ‘Our House, Everton’s executive box with a difference’ is about the Striker’s Suite. It says: “It’s the best executive box in the country.”
However, the Striker’s Suite’s time is coming to an end. Everton will move to pastures new at the end of the season, beginning life at the 52,888-capacity stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock and closing the book on 133 years at Goodison Park.
Ray and his friends have secured their tickets at the Toffees’ new waterfront home. As such, they will be shutting down the suite at the end of the season before Ray converts it to extend the upstairs flat.
It means that they have just three meetings left on Goodison Road. Ray will be sad to see it go, but it has come at the right time.
He said: “Most of us are in the Club View in the East Stand. We can all meet up. I’m 80 at Christmas. You’ve got a situation now where I more or less have to be here to run the show.
“When it comes to Wednesday night in the middle of winter, raining and the game is on the tele, you’ve got a glass of wine, you’re sitting at home and thinking ‘do I really want to be going out?’. The answer is no.”
Ray will look back fondly of nearly 30 years of matchdays toasted at his terraced house in Walton. He said: “I was in property for 45 years and this was the best investment I ever made.”