Since NESV’s takeover of Liverpool earlier this month there has been much discussion on whether they will continue with the club’s current plans to build a new stadium at Stanley Park, or instead redevelop Anfield.
It is a situation they inherited when they took over at the Boston Red Sox, where they – eventually – chose redevelopment of the famous ballpark. Therefore some have assumed John Henry and his partners will choose a similar route for Liverpool.
However, Red Sox chief operating officer Sam Kennedy insists no decision has been made and that NESV will take their time to make a calculated decision for the long term future of the football club.
“The idea that any decision has been made about Anfield is inaccurate,” Kennedy says in an interview with the Daily Mail’s Des Kelly. “Henry has built his businesses on having the benefit of all of the information before he makes a call.”
“Nothing is going to be done in a rush. I understand why people draw a link but, frankly, when NESV took over the Red Sox at the end of 2001, we didn’t know what to do — build a new facility or redevelop here?”
“It wasn’t until 2005 that we gave the commitment to stay at Fenway for the next generation. We’ll do the same at Liverpool, listening and learning about what the employees, the council and supporters want before making any move, for however long it takes.”
“At Fenway we wanted to preserve one of the most important ball parks in the country,” Kennedy explains. ‘But if we didn’t think it could work economically we would not have pursued it. We have the expertise for building new and renovating old, and both options are definitely still on the table.”
