daily wail say FSG say we're redeveloping

[Guest San Don]

From the daily wail

 

Liverpool opt to end stadium saga with £150m plan to stay at Anfield | Mail Online

 

Liverpool's American owners will end the club's 10-year stadium saga by committing to develop Anfield as a refurbished 60,000-capacity venue, including 7,000 'corporate' seats.

 

The club publicly maintain that no final decision has yet been made between refurbishment and a new stadium but detailed plans are in place for a phased expansion of the Main Stand and then the Anfield Road stand, Inside Sport can reveal.

 

The work is expected to cost about £150 million, a huge saving on the estimated £400m that a new stadium in Stanley Park would cost, although an estimated £50m has been spent by the club on designs and planning for a new stadium.

Staying put: Anfield

 

Staying put: Anfield

 

Naming rights might have helped to subsidise a new venue but no suitable deal has been found.

 

Liverpool City Council have been working closely with the club on stadium options for years and for a long time were in favour of a new stadium, to be shared with Everton.

 

The council now believe that official confirmation on the refurbishment is imminent from John W Henry's Fenway Sports Group.

 

A council spokesman said: 'It does seem to be the case that the club have decided to stay at Anfield and that Liverpool officials are preparing to confirm the decision'.

Hints: Liverpool owner John W Henry seems to be in favour of the club staying at Anfield

 

Hints: Liverpool owner John W Henry seems to be in favour of the club staying at Anfield

 

The importance of resolving the stadium situation is highlighted by today's sell-out game against Manchester United at Anfield, which will generate about £1.5m in revenues for Liverpool.

 

The corresponding match at Old Trafford will generate more than £3m not just because United have more seats but better corporate facilities for which the club can charge more.

 

Anfield's 45,000-seat capacity and structure limits the extent to which Liverpool can mount a realistic challenge to rivals including United (who have 76,000 seats) and Arsenal (60,000) – on and off the pitch.

 

Henry himself has long been supportive of the idea that Liverpool's long-time home should remain their home.

 

He feels the club can develop without moving in the way that his baseball club, the Boston Red Sox, have done at their home, Fenway Park.

 

Henry dropped another heavy hint in June that a refurbished Anfield was his preference when tweeting a link to a blog by a Liverpool architect, Peter McGurk, that suggested Liverpool should stay put.

 

McGurk has no connection to the club or redevelopment.

Here to stay: Liverpool fans in the stands at Anfield

 

Here to stay: Liverpool fans in the stands at Anfield

 

Council regeneration plans for the area around Liverpool have provided a solution to the long-running problem of freeing up land for Anfield's expansion.

 

The council intend to acquire property for demolition and refurbishment - and crucially now have the option of applying for compulsory purchase orders if required.

 

The council will be hoping to avoid any drastic action by offering residents the full market values of their homes plus compensation and relocation costs.

[Jonjo Baldy]

Quite pleased at that and hope it works out well. We get to keep our historic home, the name without a silly sponsor on it, and save hundreds of millions which will help the club financially. Just hope its actually viable and will generate the cash with the larger capacity and corporate facilities.

[zigackly]

We'll see.

[xerxes]

A half new, half old, stadium.It's the future.

[Guest ShoePiss]

If they do expand it to 60k and it costs £150m it's the right move, so what if it's half old.

 

Anyway that aside I'll believe it when I see it actually getting built rather than getting excited over £50m pictures.

[Soup]

[Reacher]

A half new' date=' half old, stadium.It's the future.[/quote']

 

If this happens and we get back to a semblance of the team from 2005, do you not think they'll look at the other half?

[Captain]

FSG will not build a new stadium imo. So if they do anything at all, it will be a redevelopment.

[Red_or_Dead]

McGurk is a clown who thinks you can just add an extra tier onto the existing Main Stand - parts of it are over a 100 years old! The whole stand needs proper redevelopment. Given our owners preference for getting information off fans it wouldn't surprise me if they went with McGurk's daft idea.

[Carvalho Diablo]

Staying at Anfield would make me happy, but one small request : for any redevelopment, PLEASE make the seats suitable for and comfortable for people over 6 foot tall !

 

My knees are regularly crippled. Like fuckin sardines.

[gumps]

Makes sense. The Kop and Centenary stands were the most recent so it makes sense that the Main stand and Anfield Road end are most in need of development.

 

At least Anfield would still have character and it's own identity and not be a modern soulless bowl.

 

Only problem is reduced capacity while rebuilding for a few years.

 

But as some have pointed out, talk and designs are cheap (not really actually!). Until the builders move in?

[Guest San Don]

A half new, half old, stadium.It's the future.

 

Talking shite as usual. The Centenary Upper was built in 1992 with the Kop completely rebuilt some years later. I'd hardly call them 'old.'

 

If they do expand it to 60k and it costs £150m it's the right move, so what if it's half old.

 

Anyway that aside I'll believe it when I see it actually getting built rather than getting excited over £50m pictures.

 

He, xerxes, is talking shite as usual. There will be no 'old' about it.

 

If this happens and we get back to a semblance of the team from 2005, do you not think they'll look at the other half?

 

Nope, dont think so. The Centenary Upper and Kop are modern builds whichever way you look at it. They'll also be very difficult to extend plus the return in income for the cost would be minimal. 60k will be the limit imo.

[Guest davelfc]

7000 corporate seats (around half of the increase), selling for double or triple the price of a normal seat effectively takes the capacity higher.

 

So around 8000 'normal' seats for ST holders and Thomas Cook to fight over.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

7000 corporate seats (around half of the increase), selling for double or triple the price of a normal seat effectively takes the capacity higher.

 

So around 8000 'normal' seats for ST holders and Thomas Cook to fight over.

 

Will you be unhappy with a redeveloped Anfield?

[PaulMcC]

Where would 7000 corporate facilities go?

[Guest davelfc]

Will you be unhappy with a redeveloped Anfield?

 

Where have I given that impression? We need to compete and I've said all along that people shouldn't hold their breath on increased capacity as it makes financial sense to shove them out to corporate. A 60k becomes a 75k when 7k of those seats are selling for 2 or 3 times the price of a normal seat.

 

It's all just talk at the moment, like a lot of things about our club. I shouldn't imagine we will need our undersoil heating this winter with all the hot air flowing around the place.

[Captain]

A 60k becomes a 75k when 7k of those seats are selling for 2 or 3 times the price of a normal seat.

 

Only if other 75k stadia don't have executive boxes.

 

Which they do.

 

Let's not kid ourselves here. A 60k seater is just that.

[Guest davelfc]

Where would 7000 corporate facilities go?

 

Suites built into the main stand (think Shankly and Paisley suites in Centenary) with a cushion on some seats in the centre, also boxes like the Centenary.

 

If I had the cash I'd want an apartment built into the main stand so I could wake up each morning and look out on to the pitch. In fact had I won that euromillions instead, I would have put £40m in to the main stand development in order to secure such an exclusive apartment.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Where have I given that impression?

You haven't, I was asking.

 

I'm one of the minority who thinks we need a new stadium. Most clearly want a redeveloped Anfield.

[Guest davelfc]

Only if other 75k stadia don't have executive boxes.

 

Which they do.

 

Let's not kid ourselves here. A 60k seater is just that.

 

I'm not saying that, I'm talking purely cash. From an investors perspective would you give the extra 15k to normal st holders at £800 a pop or just under half to corporates at £2400 a pop? Simple maths shows the extra income which is what they want from any investment.

[Guest davelfc]

You haven't, I was asking.

 

I'm one of the minority who thinks we need a new stadium. Most clearly want a redeveloped Anfield.

 

I think a new stadium would be brilliant, but like a lot of things we've had to adjust our expectations and I don't see that FSG have the desire or the cash to fund a completely new stadium. For me it was obvious they would select the cheapest possible means of getting more income, that's why they are investors

[PaulMcC]

Where have I given that impression? We need to compete and I've said all along that people shouldn't hold their breath on increased capacity as it makes financial sense to shove them out to corporate. A 60k becomes a 75k when 7k of those seats are selling for 2 or 3 times the price of a normal seat.

 

It's all just talk at the moment, like a lot of things about our club. I shouldn't imagine we will need our undersoil heating this winter with all the hot air flowing around the place.

 

''All we do is talk, talk, talk''

 

That was 2007. Not a lot has changed in regards to getting things done.

[Captain]

I'm not saying that, I'm talking purely cash. From an investors perspective would you give the extra 15k to normal st holders at £800 a pop or just under half to corporates at £2400 a pop? Simple maths shows the extra income which is what they want from any investment.

 

Of course part of the capacity will/should be corporate, no argument from me there.

[Gav]

Hmmmm,releasing a "Stadium update" story today of all days.JW must be expecting us to get a bumming today againts the mancs.

[bonesman]

Its old news, the echo ran a good article about it weeks ago, posted in the Anfield / new Anfield thread..