Liverpool have asked to play their opening fixture of next season’s Premier League away from home to allow construction workers additional time to complete the new Anfield Road stand.
Work began on the £80m extension, which will boost Anfield’s capacity by 7,000 seats to 61,000, in September 2021 but keeping the existing stand open for games has meant completing the project has taken time.
But speaking to the Liverpool Echo, club staffer Paul Cuttill said that he expects the new stand to be fully operational for the second round of league fixtures on the weekend of August 19.
"We get asked each year and we've put in a request for our first game of the season to be away from home," Cuttill said. "We haven't had that confirmed yet by the Premier League, I must stress. However, if it is confirmed, we're looking at around August 19 for our first home game of the new season to be played here with the Anfield Road stand open, brand new.”
Cuttill said that the redevelopment is on schedule and on budget but the logistics around keeping the existing stand open has made it “incredibly challenging.” Liverpool ’s final home game of the season is on May 20 against Aston Villa and after that work will immediately commence on removing the old roof.
Cuttill said: “We're on time and we're on budget. It's been an incredibly challenging time to get to this point and we've got a four-week window after our last home game when we remove the roof and that is going to be the next big milestone. We need to hit that to kick on and make sure we're on track to be ready in time for the start of the 23/24 season.”
The increase to 61,000 will make Anfield the fourth-biggest club stadium in England, behind Old Trafford (74,310), Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (62,850) and London Stadium (62,500) - but Cuttill said he was unaware of any plans for further redevelopment.
He added: "For me personally, I am not involved or aware of any further conversations in terms of expanding Anfield. I don't think anyone can say never but what I would say is we're not aware of what that would look like.”
Liverpool have previously said that the boost in crowd will create 500 additional jobs on matchday. The club’s latest accounts said that they made £86m in matchday income last season.
Work continues on a new 52,888-capacity stadium for neighbours Everton in Bramley-Moore Dock. That ground is expected to open in time for the 2024/25 campaign.
The Premier League has confirmed the fixture schedule for the new season will be released on June 15, just over two weeks after the current campaign finishes.