Liverpool unveil massive plans to expand Anfield’s capacity
Liverpool have revealed their proposal to expand the Anfield Road stand by 7,000 seats in a new scheme which will take the famous stadium’s capacity up to 61,000.
The original plans had purported an increase of 4,800 seats, but this has since lapsed as a new, larger proposal looks set to be formally submitted next spring.
It is understood the scheme will cost in the region of £60million and, unlike the main stand refurbishment which was paid for through a £115m loan secured by owners Fenway Sports Group, the money for this project will come from refinancing at a local level.
There is no timescale as yet for the completion of the new stand, which will have small hospitality capacity, with the majority of seats outlined for general admission tickets, and no further development is being considered at this time.
The new plans are on the footprint of the old planning application but a redesign has allowed an increased capacity. The work will mean the partial closure of Anfield Road outside the stadium.
“We are looking at an extra 7,000 seats in the Anfield Road, the old planning application was for 4,800,” said Liverpool’s chief operating officer, Andy Hughes.
“They are draft numbers at this stage and there is still a lot of work to do but it would take overall capacity of Anfield up to 61,000. We are currently just over 54,000.
“There is a limited amount of room behind Anfield Road at the moment so there is a short section of road which we will need to close.
“The overall footprint of the build and the overall height is very similar to the original planning application and that also included a partial closure of Anfield Road.
“There is a limited amount of space if you look at the constraints of the site and the Anfield stadium itself and we have spent a long period of time trying to figure out the best design and how we could get more capacity into the stand.
“I’m not saying it is exactly 61,000 but it is there or thereabouts and it is hard to see where it will go much further than that.”
#LFC unveil £60m plans to make Anfield changes https://t.co/wMfqaCrGng
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Increasing Anfield to 61,000 seats would make Liverpool’s home the third biggest stadium currently used by a Premier League club, behind Old Trafford and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but slightly ahead of Arsenal’s Emirates.
As part of the first stage of the consultation process Liverpool are holding drop-in events at Anfield on Friday, Monday and Tuesday.