When are we likely to get definitive stadium news?

[Nathanzx]

I'd like something decided by end of 2011 to be honest so we can get on with building/refurbishing the bloody thing

 

transfer window out of the window, now let's make a final decision on the stadium before the next transfer window

 

i think they are probably still negotiating a naming rights deal with someone and we will most likely announce we are moving to a new 65,000 stadium but i don't want it to drag on and on and on so i ask you

 

 

...when are we likely to get definitive stadium news?

[PestiRed]

The last thing I heard was that the next milestone will be planning consents for Stanley Park will run out in mid-Sept so we might get a bit more info then (presumably the council will grant another extension)

[Funkasy]

Hope they take their time and do it right. Don't care if it takes another 1-2 years.

[Redder Lurtz]

When the sky turns green and the grass is several shades of blue.

[Captain]

Tuesday.

[109_ultra]

Staying at Anfield. Going to sell the naming rights and develop the main stand in 2 years to create an extra 15,000 seats.

 

You heard it here first.

[firemarshall]

Every member of Parliament trips on glue.

[YNWAViking]

When they're ready. :)

[Maldini]

There are only really two viable options as far as I can tell.

 

- Renovate Anfield

- Build a new 70k+ stadium.

 

Building a new 60k stadium for £300m, even with some of that being offset by naming rights just doesn't make sense. I think the club know that renovating Anfield (the cheapest option and clearly the one they would prefer) would be a nightmare of residents and bluenoses complaining about every step and dragging them through the courts. I think all the stuff in the press over the last few months is aimed at getting the council to allow planning permission for a larger stadium or to get their fingers out of their arses and help the club force through Anfield expansion.

 

I could be wrong here but I think we're some way from this being resolved, the council haven't a pot to piss in and seem to be trying to force groundshare on us.

[Redder Lurtz]

Staying at Anfield. Going to sell the naming rights and develop the main stand in 2 years to create an extra 15,000 seats.

You heard it here first.

 

Except that we didn't. Some of us read it days ago on the MF.

 

*sits back, sucks on fat cigar*

[109_ultra]

I could be wrong here but I think we're some way from this being resolved, the council haven't a pot to piss in and seem to be trying to force groundshare on us.

 

And therein lies the problem. The Council in furtherance of their own agenda will not budge on an Anfield re-development.

 

Henry has gone on record to say it makes no sense to pay 300 hundred million pound for an extra 15,000 seats, which is what a new stadium with a 60,000 capacity would cost.

 

Who really wants to move from Anfield anyway? The main stand has needed those wooden seats and bollards ripping out for years. Knock it down and build a three tier stand. Problem solved.

 

Only it isnt that simple is it? Anywhere else in the country you can guarantee that this would be backed, but not by this council. All's they need do is place compulsory purchase orders on the houses surrounding anfield. The club buy them off the council and re-house the residents in (let's be honest better houses anyway). If they dont want to move then fine but on what basis can they object to a re-development? Unless you lived in Anfield before 1892 then you cant say you moved there without knowing you might be inconvenienced once every two weeks by a crowd of people.

 

I just wonder how long it will be before something is leaked to the supporters about the club's re-development issues so our voices can be heard.

[Captain]

Except that we didn't. Some of us read it days ago on the MF.

 

*sits back, sucks on fat cigar*

 

Does this mean this is what you think will happen?

[LFC64]

And therein lies the problem. The Council in furtherance of their own agenda will not budge on an Anfield re-development.

 

Only it isnt that simple is it? Anywhere else in the country you can guarantee that this would be backed, but not by this council. All's they need do is place compulsory purchase orders on the houses surrounding anfield. The club buy them off the council and re-house the residents in (let's be honest better houses anyway). .

 

Joe Anderson and the council insist the restrictions are national policy issues and nothing the local council can do about them.

 

What no politician will never admit is if the will is there and it suits the agenda these obstacles can be overcome

[Redder Lurtz]

Does this mean this is what you think will happen?

 

No. It means I didn't hear it here first, as he suggested. Keep up.

[Ian Sea]

Hope they take their time and do it right. Don't care if it takes another 1-2 years.

 

Exactly. Making the correct decision is the most important thing, no matter how long it takes.

[mlwilliams]

As long as we're not going to be getting a bowl stadium I'm happy and don't mind waiting.

[The Acolyte]

Its the other money that can be made to a new stadium in preference to a renovated Anfield. Coporate seats, meeting UEFA guidelines regarding distance of seats, being modern enough for concerts etc. These are factors which I think Henry is considering.

I personally think they are holding fire till the end of the season. If we do really well and earn enough money so that outlays like this summer are not needed then I think they'll go for the new stadium. If it looks like we need more work then the stadium will be sacrificed for the good of the team.

[redsoxs]

Liverpool granted stadium extension by City Council

 

Mon 26th Sep 2011 | Football Stadiums & Facilities

Liverpool have been granted another extension by Liverpool City Council as they continue to explore all options on the future of Anfield.

A deadline was set in July for Liverpool to announce by the end of this month whether they intend to take up the 999-year lease that would allow them to build a new ground on nearby Stanley Park, for which they have already been granted planning permission.

Liverpool have maintained, however, they will not be rushed on any decision, as revamping and expanding Anfield is also under consideration.

Council leader Joe Anderson had warned in July that the club’s delaying of an announcement was 'very frustrating'.

However talks have been on-going between the two parties and the council have been reassured that progress is being made.

Renovating Anfield was the original preferred choice of Liverpool’s American owners, Fenway Sports Group, but the cost of doing that is exorbitant.

A new build on Stanley Park would require Liverpool to find a partner to facilitate a lucrative naming rights deal.

 

 

Liverpool granted stadium extension by City Council : F.C. Business

.

[xerxes]

Staying at Anfield. Going to sell the naming rights and develop the main stand in 2 years to create an extra 15,000 seats.

 

You heard it here first.

 

The current main stand holds 12,277. An additional 15,000 seats would take that to 27,277.

 

That is a practical and physical impossibility.

[xerxes]

The issue of a new stadium is one I have long taken an interest in not least because they touch on several areas in which i have a professional interest.

 

Currently there are conflicting forces. The most important one is consistently overlooked. The Stadium decision will reflect the solution which offers the optimum financial return to the FSG investment group which numbers around 20. One of my favourite sayings is that a camel is a horse made by committee.

 

A team out of Europe, let alone contending for the CL and PL does not need a stadium larger, or with better facilities than Anfield. FSG have been right to pump cash into the team. Whether it will be enough, and whether if it is not enough, they will be prepared to invest substantially again remains to be seen.

 

Remaining at Anfield offers the least capital commitment. The case that Anfield can offer a capacity, and facilities, to enable us to compete with the Euro elite has yet to be made.

 

It does appear that it would be physically possible to redevelop the Main Stand and Annie Rd End sufficient to compete financially ( but not in terms of facilities) with a new stadium at a capacity of around 55,000. However neither the case that planning permission could be secured ( massing/elevation/ rights of light) nor that the additional land around the Main Stand could be acquired has been made.

 

Whether a 60k stadium offers an acceptable financial proposition for FSG is unclear.

 

A 70k new stadium may offer a better long term financial solution. Yet significant sectors of our support believe we cannot fill it, and the increasing cost of rail and fuel costs will adversely affect our OOT support, current and prospective.

 

Successful stadium moves tend to combine favourable commercial terms (Man City), visionary chairmen, (Madjeski), favourable construction/financial terms (Stadium of Light) and fine football management on the pitch (Wenger). Ensuring the Stars of Good Fortune are aligned involves good judgement – and luck.

 

There is an argument that our time to move stadium has passed. That we will just have to make do. We had our chance with the Docks development in the 90’s – and blew it. The level of our indebtedness to G&H could have financed a new stadium. Perhaps there is no third chance?

 

Our current capacity, with the 64th largest stadium in Europe is testimony to two decades of Board incompetence and inertia. I am in no doubt that LFC deserves, and needs, a 21st Century stadium to enable us to compete at the Euro top table. I also suspect that FSG can secure a return on their original investment sufficient to make a capital investment, and deferred pay-back unnecessary. Bluntly, they can sell us on for enough without further risk.

 

Ian knows the commercial demand (boxes/hospitality) now. The first of the ST waiting list rationalisation has taken place. The lack of follow up is alarming. Is this about establishing potential increased match day support? Or is the die cast whatever the results?

 

Man Utd/City and Chelsea are over the horizon financially. Arsenal will come back and have a stadium in situ, capable of generating £60m a season more than us. Spurs, one way or another will find themselves in a larger more competitive stadium soon enough. FSG are gambling as a one in three contenders. What stake are they prepared to put down? How many times will they roll the dice?

 

FSG have proved to be good owners to date, I think they will continue to be so. However they have no commitment to England, the North West, Merseyside, the city of Liverpool, Anfield or LFC. The majority of our investors will probably never even see us play live. It is an investment, from people who know very little about football. Only one Director, Ayres, is UK domicile. At a time when a decision needs to be taken which will affect our future for the next half century the credibility of the decision making process could hardly be more fragile.

 

A stadium move almost certainly hinges on a bumper naming rights deal – a bumper naming rights deal hinges on Euro success. Pitching for naming rights when we have not won the league for twenty years, nothing for over five years and without any form of Euro competition is a tough hand for Ayres to play when Euro TV exposure, not past glory, count.

 

Without a naming rights deal a fudged, compromised, limited redevelopment looms, as and when FSG get a grip on what level we will be competing at.

[109_ultra]

Anfield can and will be redeveloped. Old Trafford is proof that you do not need to move to a new stadium.

 

Henry is on record as saying the cost of a new stadium cannot justify the returns an extra 15,000 seats would bring. Any development of the Main Stand and Anfield road would mean more corporate boxes as well.

 

The footballing factors you cite are all relevant but the one prevailing factor out of everybody's control is the economic climate now, which makes lending for this type of venture nigh on impossible. A naming rights deal would be the only way funding of any kind could be made available but that alone will not be enough.

 

The surrounding area of Anfield can also be developed but problems of development are not ours alone. If the council is to move residents on from those homes which are occupied nearby then they too need funding to re-house and build new homes. In a nutshell, until the lenders start lending again we are stuck where we are in which is in Anfield in its current form.

[Antynwa]

Anfield can and will be redeveloped. Old Trafford is proof that you do not need to move to a new stadium.

Henry is on record as saying the cost of a new stadium cannot justify the returns an extra 15,000 seats would bring. Any development of the Main Stand and Anfield road would mean more corporate boxes as well.

 

The footballing factors you cite are all relevant but the one prevailing factor out of everybody's control is the economic climate now, which makes lending for this type of venture nigh on impossible. A naming rights deal would be the only way funding of any kind could be made available but that alone will not be enough.

 

The surrounding area of Anfield can also be developed but problems of development are not ours alone. If the council is to move residents on from those homes which are occupied nearby then they too need funding to re-house and build new homes. In a nutshell, until the lenders start lending again we are stuck where we are in which is in Anfield in its current form.

 

How does a stadium 30 miles away prove we can stay at Anfield?

[Guest ShoePiss]

Anfield can and will be redeveloped. Old Trafford is proof that you do not need to move to a new stadium.

 

Henry is on record as saying the cost of a new stadium cannot justify the returns an extra 15,000 seats would bring. Any development of the Main Stand and Anfield road would mean more corporate boxes as well.

 

The footballing factors you cite are all relevant but the one prevailing factor out of everybody's control is the economic climate now, which makes lending for this type of venture nigh on impossible. A naming rights deal would be the only way funding of any kind could be made available but that alone will not be enough.

 

The surrounding area of Anfield can also be developed but problems of development are not ours alone. If the council is to move residents on from those homes which are occupied nearby then they too need funding to re-house and build new homes. In a nutshell, until the lenders start lending again we are stuck where we are in which is in Anfield in its current form.

 

OK, Old Trafford is a stadium that has had expansions over a number of years but it's not proof that it can be done at Anfield at all. Have you been to OT? Did you go there when the capacity was about 46k? It's very easy to see why it's a terrible comparison beyond an existing stadium being expanded.

 

It's located on an industrial estate, always had loads of room around it apart from the railway. It's a completely different situation to Anfield.

[109_ultra]

I don't understand the fixation with a new ground.

 

The comparison is borne out of the possibility that an existing ground can be redeveloped to make a modern home. I have been to Old Trafford numerous times and its design certainly lent itself to development over a course of decades as you say in its almost bowl shape design (the WWII bombing of it going some way to assisting an earlier refurb than intended). I'm no architect but i'd like to think the designers of the new Kop and Anfield rd which are only comparatively young considering they were built in the 90's could facilitate corners being filled in to join a new main stand with possibly 3 tiers?

 

Maybe the cost of doing that isn't too far off a new stadium but its one of a number of possibilities that shouldn't be dismissed.

[109_ultra]

As for the room around Anfield its a case of re-housing the residents into new homes through CPO's. The row of houses behind the main stand has already gone as well as some behind the anfield road, its paving the way for a redevelopment of anfield.