LFC confirm intentions to remain at Anfield

Liverpool FC have today confirmed their intentions to remain at Anfield and redevelop their historic stadium.

As reported over the weekend, Liverpool City Council announced a housing regeneration scheme for the Anfield area.

Liverpool FC managing director Ian Ayre was in attendance with Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson at a press conference at Liverpool Town hall to confirm the plans to work together to make an Anfield redevelopment work.

“We do want to stay put at Anfield and embark on what is a very ambitious, but achievable, stadium development plan, one which significantly increases our capacity and match day revenues”, said Ayre. “And we do hope and expect that it will all happen.”

“Today represents a huge step forward for the Anfield area. Everyone at the football club knows the importance of today,” Ayre said.

“We welcome the opportunity to be part of this partnership – we want to thank Joe Anderson and the council for the time and the support they’ve given us to help make the right decision.”

Anderson revealed how he had recently returned from Boston where he visited Fenway Park with John Henry, saying “Having recently visited Fenway Park, I’m excited about the possibilities to provide jobs and support for the whole community.”

No timescale or confirmed plans for redevelopment have been revealed, and it could be another two years before building begins.

“This is step one as there is land to acquire, plans to be approved etc, but this is a significant moment,” explained Ayre.

“Questions about capacity and cost are not for today – not until we have certainty.”

However, reports suggest a figure of around £150m will be spent to redevelop the Main Stand and Anfield Road Stands.

In an interview with the official Liverpool website, Ayre confirmed that Anfield’s capacity would be maintained “as much as possible” during construction phases.

Ayre also explained the reasoning behind staying at Anfield, rather than building a new stadium, in financial terms. Essentially saying that you can add 15,000 seats to Anfield for less than half the cost of a new stadium which would have the same 60,000 capacity.

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