There is no doubt that Liverpool's Anfield Stadium is one of the most iconic football venues in the world. The close proximity to the pitch, noise, and atmosphere that is created at the stadium is one of a kind and long helped the Reds in their quests for silverware. Liverpool are fighting on three fronts for silverware this season and punters can visit bemybet.com for the latest football bet bonuses to wager on the Reds.
Yet, one of the biggest problems with Anfield is its size. The 1990s and early 2000s were not kind to Liverpool Football Club. As other big English teams won trophies and renovated their stadiums (or built new ones) under mega-rich owners, Liverpool struggled on and off the pitch.
Since Fenway Sports Group bought the club nearly a decade ago, the results on and off the pitch have changed greatly for Liverpool. In 2014, the club redeveloped its Main Stand to not only increase the number of seats, but to modernise the stadium. Now, the Reds are aiming to expand the Anfield Road End and transform the iconic stadium once more. If the expansion comes to fruition, Anfield will become even more of a European elite stadium than it already is.
The price of the expansion is said to be estimated at £60 million and it would add a further 7,000 seats to the stadium. In the end, Anfield would be able to hold 61,000 supporters on matchdays rather than the current 54,000.
For any Liverpool supporter, the news of more seating is good news. The difficulty to obtain a match ticket for a Liverpool fixture at Anfield is incredible high with most going to season ticket holders. If you are able to get a ticket and must sit in the Anfield Road End currently, then you may not even see the entire game. The sightlines in the Anfield Road End lower and upper tiers are poor with the space being incredibly cramped. Liverpool are a world-famous sports team yet until the stadium is line with some of the biggest and best in the sports world, it is difficult to call it an 'elite' venue.
One of the big issues for Anfield expansion is the lack of space around the stadium. Since FSG took over the club, there has been a massive amount of redevelopment around Anfield although there is still a long way to go to gentrify the area with old housing, shops and pubs situated around it.
According to the latest news released by the Guardian, Liverpool plan to begin the expansion work at the end of 2020 with it being competed in 2022. Before work can start on the Anfield Road End of the iconic stadium, the club must go through another phase of consultation.
The expansion will be funded differently than the main stand work that was previously completed. FSG will use "existing finance options" rather than a loan similar to the one they received to complete the Main Stand. The 2014 redevelopment on the Main Stand cost £110m to complete.
Although the redevelopment of the stand will take over a year to complete, Liverpool do not plan to close the Anfield Road End on matchdays. If the end was closed, it would hit Liverpool hard in terms of matchday revenues.
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