Liverpool FC will welcome 60,000 fans to Anfield next Saturday as the full opening of its £80m Anfield Road Stand moves closer. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool FC will see its new £80m Anfield Road Stand fully open for the first time on Saturday, although not yet at its maximum capacity.
Subject to final safety tests in conjunction with Liverpool City Council this week, the club will welcome an extra 3,000 fans into the stadium for the Premier League clash with Burnley, kicking off on Saturday.
In December the city council gave the go-ahead for part of the stand to open. This led to an attendance of around 57,000 spectators for the visit of Manchester United. It was Anfield’s biggest crowd since April 1973.
Although this will mean all sections of the stand will now be open the capacity will still fall short of the 61,000 with work still needing to be carried out on the back rows of the upper tier and in the away end.
The opening of the new stand has suffered multiple delays. Rayner Rowen Construction took control of the scheme in early September following the collapse of Buckingham Group, which had started work on the scheme in September 2021.
Its full opening will be a relief for Liverpool FC owner FSG. It has invested in the new stand in order to push matchday income past the £100m mark for the first time in the club’s history.
Its investment into a new main stand added around 8,500 to Anfield’s capacity and the Anfield Road stand offers an additional 7,000 seats.
Liverpool FC said on Monday: “The next part of the planned phased opening of the ambitious project is expected to see more fans welcomed to Anfield for the upcoming Premier League fixture against Burnley on February 10.
“This will, however, be subject of further internal emergency conditions tests, managed in conjunction with Liverpool City Council, which will take place later this week.
“Work has continued, in between a busy festive footballing period and a number of domestic cup home games in January, with excellent progress towards reaching a full capacity of 61,000.
This has been made possible thanks to the hard work, dedication and commitment of all involved.
“Full details of further ticket sales for remaining Premier League home games will be published here in due course. These remaining tickets will be sold on a match-by-match basis.
“Once again, Liverpool FC wishes to thank supporters for their continued patience and understanding.”