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Liverpool Football Club has confirmed the expansion the Main Stand of Anfield Stadium.
Construction for the expansion will begin early next year (2015) and will be completed during the 2016-17 season. The Main Stand will be expanded by 8,500 seats, taking the capacity of the stand to 20,000 and the overall capacity of Anfield to 54,000.
This news will be welcomed by Liverpudlians all around the world as the club has over 70,000 people in the season ticket waiting list. Despite not performing to its usual standards in recent history, Liverpool has a massive fan following all over the world and Anfield can not accommodate everybody.
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Anfield expansion is just a part of the development of the entire area
The expansion is just one element of Liverpool City Council's major regeneration plan, which was announced in October 2012, to transform the Anfield area and make it a better place to live, work and visit.
At the time, the club committed to working with the City Council and Your Housing Group in support of their delivery of the regeneration plan, and also confirmed its preference was to stay and expand Anfield Stadium.
The landscape improvements around the Main Stand will integrate into the neighbourhood and improve wider connections to Stanley Park as well as creating a space for fans to gather and enhance the experience of those visiting the stadium on matchdays and non-matchdays.
A transport strategy has also been created that builds on steps already taken to improve access to the stadium and is primarily aimed at limiting the number of cars being used by people attending matches.
The expanded Main Stand will be one of the largest all-seater stands in Europe
Tom Werner, Liverpool chairman, said: "Since Fenway Sports Group took ownership of the club, we were committed to explore in depth all options for the future of Anfield Stadium. We listened to fans, the community, partners, the Supporters' Committee and key stakeholders involved in the club.
"It was just over two years ago that we said our preference was to stay at Anfield and here we are today announcing that the expansion is going ahead. We have made more progress in the past two years than in the last decade.
"Having experience of expanding Fenway Park and being through a similar and very successful project for the Red Sox, everyone at FSG is extremely proud and excited to be part of expanding Anfield Stadium."
The expanded Main Stand, which will become one of the largest all-seater stands in Europe's top divisions, will comprise three tiers, with the existing lower tier re-profiled to accommodate a widened player tunnel, new team benches, media platform and wheelchair viewing positions.
The scheme will also include a two-storey podium which will become the new home for the Hillsborough Memorial, while the iconic Shankly Gates will also be repositioned as part of the new designs.
It will bring huge benefits for the city of Liverpool: Liverpool mayor
Chief executive officer Ian Ayre commented, "Today is an important milestone in the history of Liverpool Football Club. Since we embarked upon this journey we have always said that we need certainty; we now have that certainty and will progress with the expansion of the Main Stand.
"We received very positive support for this expansion during a public consultation exercise and today is also an important step for the wider regeneration of the Anfield area.
"There has been a tremendous amount of work done to get us where we are today, but this is just the beginning. This is a major construction project which will take place during the football season and while we will make every effort to minimise any impact or disruption to normal operations, we ask for the continued support and understanding from our fans and the local community.
"Expanding Anfield is very much part of our long-term strategy of growing the club and on behalf of the directors, players and staff, I'd like to thank the local community and residents, our fans, Liverpool City Council and Your Housing Group for all their support."
The mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said: "The start of work on the Main Stand will mark the beginning of a project which will deliver huge benefits to the city of Liverpool and to the communities in and around Anfield.
"It is the culmination of a great deal of hard work from many parties, including our colleagues at Your Housing Group, and is evidence of the commitment of Fenway Sports Group to the strategic vision which we jointly unveiled just over two years ago. I'm delighted that we have reached this decisive turning point in the history of Anfield."
What will be the financial effect of the expansion on Liverpool?
There will be minimum disruption at Anfield during construction work as Carillion, the applied contractors, are building up and behind the existing main stand before connecting the two structures under one roof.
The cost of expanding the main stand will be £75 million, but the acquisition of land cost an additional £39 million taking the overall expenditure to £114 million. To finance the stadium expansion, owners of the English club, Fenway Sports Group (FSG) will be giving the club an £114 million interest-free loan.
Liverpool earned £45 million in matchday revenue for the 2013-14 season, while Manchester United earned £109 million, Arsenal and Chelsea received £93 and £71 million respectively. The expansion in the stadium will result in the club earning an additional £20 million each season and revenue will increase further if Liverpool goes ahead with the redevelopment of the Anfield Road end.
The Corporate hospitality seats will be increased to 7,000 from 3,500. The club has not decided how non-corporate seats in the main stand will be divided, although a large proportion will go to those on the extensive season-ticket waiting list.
Liverpool have held initial talks with potential naming partners for the new main stand and for areas within the development. It is expected the main naming partner would pay around £10 million for a long-term deal.
