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Liverpool to break ground on Anfield Road Stand expansion next week

Premier League football club Liverpool will stage an official ground-breaking ceremony for the expansion of its Anfield Road Stand next week after confirming today (Wednesday) that the project will move forward.

The expansion has been undergoing enabling works throughout the summer and the club is now in a position to begin the project next week. The redevelopment of the stand will see 7,000 more seats added to Anfield, taking its overall capacity to more than 61,000.

The construction of the stand will work in the same way as the redevelopment of Anfield’s Main Stand, with the build to be carried out throughout the season while matches continue as scheduled.

The project will see the lower tier of the Anfield Road Stand retained and refurbished, with a new upper tier built above it. As well as an increased capacity, the redeveloped stand will be similar to the Main Stand, with improved concourse and sports bar lounge hospitality facilities. Anfield’s Family Park will also be relocated to a covered position.

Today’s update comes after Liverpool City Council approved the expansion during a planning committee meeting in June. The club was also awarded permission to hold up to six concerts and major events at Anfield for a period of five years.

Plans for the redevelopment of the Anfield Road Stand were submitted in December following two stages of public consultation with local residents, businesses, fans and stakeholders. Liverpool anticipates the redeveloped Anfield Road Stand will be ready for the 2023-24 season.

Andy Hughes, managing director of Liverpool, said: “We have been clear from the beginning that in order for this expansion to go ahead we needed the cooperation of local residents and the community, to successfully navigate the complex planning landscape, and to ensure the project is financially viable. 

“We needed certainty for this project to progress and are now in a position to be able to move forward. We began this journey in 2014 and are grateful to everyone for the contributions they have made to bring the project to this stage.”

The project will reroute Anfield Road itself around the footprint of the new stand. Liverpool will work with Buckingham Group Contracting as the principal contractor on the project.

Buckingham will work directly with the club’s Red Neighbours initiative on a range of activities with the local community and schools in line with Liverpool’s current activities across food poverty, education and opportunities for young people.

The company will also take the local community on a journey of the stand’s redevelopment, and work with local employment groups and education establishments to offer work experience, apprenticeships, graduate placements and employment to local people.

The expanded stand is expected to create around 400 matchday jobs in addition to the 2,200 people currently employed in various operations at each Liverpool home match.

Image: Liverpool FC