Liverpool Football Club confirmed on Thursday that the long-awaited expansion of their Anfield home will begin in the next few months.
After several years of legal battles, resistance from local residents and a failed bid to build a brand new stadium in Stanley Park by former owners, Liverpool’s current owners Fenway Sports Group have decided to expand Anfield and everything has now been signed and sealed with relevant parties to go ahead with the huge construction job.
In a statement released on the clubs’ website, they had the following details about the construction work which will take place.Construction, which will begin early next year and be completed during the 2016-17 season, will add around 8,500 additional seats, taking the Main Stand capacity to over 20,000 and overall Anfield capacity to around 54,000.
Matches will continue to be played at Anfield during the construction works.
For more information on the expansion, click here, as Liverpool’s home will become the fourth biggest stadium in the Premier League behind Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City.
Liverpool chairman Tom Werner stated the ownership groups’ experience with expanding the Boston Red Sox’s Fenway Park home as the key decision behind the Anfield expansion plans.
“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,” Werner said. “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.”
Planning permission to expand the Anfield Road stand by another 4,800 seats was also granted, which would take the capacity of Anfield to just under 60,000, but there is no time frame in place for that work as things stand.
Exciting times for Liverpool FC and their fans.