Liverpool FC will see its largest attendance in 50 years on Sunday after city council safety officials give go-ahead for opening of upper tier of new Anfield Road Stand. Tony McDonough reports
More than 57,000 fans will watch Liverpool take on Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday – Anfield’s biggest crowd in 50 years.
On Wednesday, Liverpool City Council health and safety officials gave the go-ahead for the next phase of the opening of the upper tier of its new £80m Anfield Road Stand. This follows a successful test event.
It means Anfield will see its largest attendance since April 1973 when 56,202 spectators watched Bill Shankly’s Reds take on Leicester City in the old First Division.
It brings Liverpool FC closer to a full opening of the new stand which will take the overall capacity of Anfield up to 61,000.
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 lower tier is already fully open but in October Liverpool announced the upper tide would remain closed until early 2024. However, with the issuing of the safety licences that schedule has now been brought forward.
Tickets are on sale for Sunday and will go first to season ticket holders and members with 13+ credits who had tickets cancelled due to delays in the opening of the new upper tier and registered their interest for the Manchester United game.
Next, the tickets will be open to members who were successful in the members’ ballot, had their tickets cancelled and they registered their interest in tickets for Sunday’s game.
There is still more work to be completed before the stand can be fully operational and LFC is able to welcome 61,000 fans to Anfield on a matchday.
Paul Cuttill, vice-president of stadium operations, said: “This is fantastic news and testament to the sheer hard work and commitment that all involved in this complex project have put in.
“We were forced to revise on construction schedules after Buckingham went into administration in September and thought we wouldn’t be able to open the upper tier until January.
“So to find ourselves ahead of that schedule is great, a real credit to all involved. The priority has always been to get fans into the upper tier safely and as soon as possible.
“We must thank all those fans who attended our test event on Monday evening to make this possible.”