Liverpool Set To Extend Anfield Capacity
Liverpool Football Club is set to reveal plans to extend the capacity of its home ground, Anfield, to 60,000 – rather than build a new ground on Stanley Park.
The council will confirm it has given the go-ahead for a series of compulsory purchase order consultations on houses that would need to be demolished.
Should the process remain on schedule, redevelopment is likely to begin in 2014.
Anfield has a current capacity of 45,276, which led to the club exploring options for a new stadium. However, Liverpool owner John Henry is believed to wish to remain at the ground.
Residents raised concerns earlier this year about the plans to expand Anfield, and it remains unclear how many houses would be affected by any compulsory purchase orders.
A new capacity of 60,000 would make Anfield the third largest Premier League ground in the country, just behind Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, but still some way behind rival’s Manchester United.
Fenway Sports Group, which also owns American baseball team Boston Red Sox, faced a similar situation with the Red Sox’s ground, Fenway Park. After conducting a feasibility study lasting about a year, FSG opted to redevelop the 100-year-old ground.
The exact cost of the redevelopment remains unknown at this stage.
