Liverpool Football Club set to stay at Anfield and redevelop current stadium
LIVERPOOL Football Club has decided to stay at Anfield.
Well-placed ECHO sources have said the club is to scrap plans for a move to Stanley Park, and will instead redevelop its current ground.
While no official confirmation has yet been given, an announcement about plans for the council's "Anfield Village" housing regeneration scheme is due to be made on Monday at the Town Hall, and the ECHO understands that part of the briefing will include the club revealing its intentions to stay put.
The ECHO revealed earlier this year how city leaders' plans to compulsory purchase and demolish houses in Lothair Road, in the shadow of the stadium, could pave the way for the club to remain where it was.
But neither the club or the council have so far been willing to expand on the overall masterplan, despite considerable pressure from local residents who claimed that the indecision was keeping both the community, and plans to regenerate swathes of derelict housing, in limbo.
Your Housing Group - formerly Arena Housing - will also attend the Town Hall press conference on Monday.
The ECHO recently revealed how Your Housing plans to turn houses on the side of Lothair Road farthest from the ground into a hotel. Classified as commercial rather than residential use, the houses would not have their "right to light" protected, furthering speculation that the club intended to add further tiers to its current footprint in order to boost capacity.
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LFC set to stay at Anfield - Echo
posted on 13/10/12
If we could develop Anfield then it would be double delight
- bigger gate returns
- remain in spiritual home for the rest of our lives
posted on 13/10/12
I think it was obvious for a while. Henry seemed to always hint at staying at home.
posted on 14/10/12
Like it.
I think FSG have argued a coherent case that the economic rationale for the Stanley Park project didn't add up. In addition to which, Anfield is such an iconic stadium in European football, it would be a wrench to leave it. I just love the place.
It's a shame in a way, because the size of the season-ticket waiting list suggests we could fill a much bigger stadium, but if I understand correctly, the planning permission for Stanley Park wasn't much more than 60k anyway.
Massive development costs, burdening us for years to come, for an increase in capacity of 15k. And matchday revenue is becoming a smaller and smaller prroportion of overall revenue anyway.
All makes sense, to me. Just glad Stadtler and Waldorf never got their spade in the ground.
posted on 14/10/12
PS. Liverpool's "brand" is not entirely dependent on success. (I know we don't like to talk about "brands", but it's the world we live in, now).
The Kop, and YNWA, is one of the best bits of branding in football, and that's warpped up in the stadium, too.
The best thing about it is that it's not dependent on success. Moving to a new stadium, therefore, risked killing the goose that liad the golden egg.