With the English Premier League (EPL) title looking set to finally come to Anfield following their symbolic win over Manchester United, the hierarchy at Liverpool FC are keen to ride the wave of optimism surrounding the club by expanding Anfield further. The club has published proposals to expand Anfield’s capacity by a further 7,000 seats, taking the total capacity to just over 61,000. The somewhat archaic Anfield Road Stand, which houses around 9,000 supporters at present, including the away supporters, could certainly do with a revamp to help Liverpool compete commercially with their EPL rivals.
Some 5,000 leaflets were distributed to residents in the surrounding area of Anfield Road, inviting them to the first public consultation regarding the redevelopment, which was hosted before Christmas. A second-stage public consultation is expected to be scheduled in the coming weeks, public feedback has been received from the first stage. The new Anfield Road Stand would see a greatly-expanded upper tier, with a roof that’s in keeping with the recently redeveloped £115 million Main Stand.
Reds hopeful of local support during first stage consultations on Anfield Road reconstruction
The first stage consultations were aimed at helping to mould the club’s design proposals, which could make or break the viability of the redevelopment as a whole. Part of Anfield Road between 96 Avenue and Skerries Road would need to be closed for the redevelopment to proceed, which is why the support of local residents has been seen as the club’s number one priority in recent weeks.
Andy Hughes, the club’s chief operating officer, said that the new upper tier seating in the Anfield Road Stand would give the Reds a chance to offer “general admission” tickets, taking advantage of the club’s renewed global appeal. Anfield could also have more of a worldwide appeal to other sports if it enters the 60,000+ capacity bracket. According to Ste Hoare, presenter for award-winning independent Liverpool FC fan channel, The Redmen TV, the club is seeking permission to stage American Football games, providing the Anfield Road Stand project gets the green light.
Staging other sports would realise Anfield’s commercial potential
There’s no doubt that NFL games are some of the most popular sporting events around the world, particularly the Super Bowl. Sports fans across the US and even those elsewhere love wagering on the outcome of the NFL Playoffs and the Super Bowl, inspired to beat the points spreads, total points and halftime scores set by the leading sportsbook traders. In 2019, Super Bowl LIII recorded an estimated average viewership in the United States of more than 98 million alone, not including the millions of other gridiron fans worldwide.
The UK has been the NFL’s primary port of call for staging overseas NFL games in recent years. Wembley Stadium was the original base, while Tottenham’s new stadium has also recently secured a deal to host more NFL games in the coming years. If Anfield could bag a similar deal, it would give NFL fans in the north of England and further afield a chance to watch their favourite NFL franchises in action—providing it doesn’t affect the Reds’ playing surface.
Staging NFL games may only be the tip of the iceberg in terms of Liverpool’s attempts to improve its commercial revenue away from conventional match-days. GAA matches may also be hosted here given Liverpool’s healthy contingent of Irish residents; a growing number of live music concerts would further cement it as one of Merseyside’s premier entertainment venues. Mr. Hughes believes that staging these kinds of events would help to deliver the “right sustainable financial and economic model” for Anfield.
Across Stanley Park, Liverpool’s Merseyside rivals Everton are also forging ahead with stadium plans of their own. However, their plans are centred around leaving Goodison Park for the proposed Bramley-Moore Dock, within the city’s Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage Site. Final designs for the 52,000-capacity stadium were published just before Christmas, which has received significant public support, despite a construction cost of approximately £500 million.
