Does anyone know what the official capacity is going to be? Several sources are saying 60k whilst the Telegraph today reported 55k.
Liverpool aim to submit planning application for Anfield redevelopment before end of season
Liverpool hope to submit a planning application for Anfield stadium redevelopment before the end of the season.
One of the key, final hurdles preventing the formal unveiling of plans - which would seek to expand the iconic arena to an estimated 55,000 capacity - could be removed in the next eight weeks.
Liverpool City Council today released a consultation document which, if agreed with politicians and residents by April, would facilitate the broader £260m regeneration of the Anfield area, of which the stadium is an essential component.
After so many setbacks in their stadium projects - primarily under previous Kop regimes - current owners Fenway Sports Group have studiously avoided making any promises or announcing specific deadlines for work to begin at Anfield.
The Merseyside club is still cautious about making any public declaration on time scales or the nature of their designs, but has welcomed the next significant stage of what has been a time-consuming and often frustrating process.
Liverpool's hierarchy have adopted a policy the polar opposite to their predecessors, who unveiled and secured permission for lavish plans for a new arena before they had the finance to pay for it, ensuring the blueprint simply gathered dust before being postponed entirely.
The current policy is to ensure the first architect's plans of the redeveloped Anfield will be in the public domain after residents and local businesses have been given an opportunity to scrutinise and support them.
Principal owner John W. Henry has already stated once Liverpool secure planning permission, the revenue is in place to begin construction.
What is made clear in today's Liverpool City Council document - the 'Anfield Spatial Regeneration Framework' - is there will be two phases to Liverpool's expansion, with Main Stand development the first priority. This will become the biggest stand in the ground, eclipsing The Kop.
A second phase - to expand the Anfield Road section of the ground - will take place after the Main Stand is rebuilt, but planning permission for both projects will be pursued at the same time.
Liverpool say there will be no decrease in the current 44,000 capacity while the arena is redeveloped.
Liverpool appointed London-based architects KSS to work on their proposed redevelopment last year.
KSS oversaw the design of executive areas at the City of Manchester Stadium in 2002, the Chelsea Village at Stamford Bridge and have also designed the proposed new stadium for Spurs.
As well as securing political and residential agreement, delays have been caused by the requirement to secure land adjacent to Anfield, but there are now only two property owners - landlords who have two houses each - who are still in negotiations.
There is confidence a deal is close to being struck with those involved and, for the first time, there is cautious optimism from all parties the process is reaching the point where the club can begin to consider the possibilities. A planning application is conceivable by April, the difference with previous applications being - by that stage - there could be a broad consensus both politically and in the neighbourhood to ensure swift progress.
Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre said: "The publication of the draft SRF document is another important step in the regeneration project as we continue the exciting journey to transform the Anfield area.
"Any final decision regarding a future stadium expansion continues to be based on certainty - a certainty that we can obtain the necessary land around the stadium to facilitate the expansion; certainty that there is demand for any future expansion; certainty that we have home owners' support; and certainty we can navigate the complex planning landscape.”
Liverpool Major Joe Anderson said: "The publication of today's draft SRF sends a very clear message to people of North Liverpool: a brighter Anfield is coming.
"This is one of the most important milestones in the recent history of north Liverpool. These plans have evolved over the last year thanks to the people of Anfield themselves. Now we want those residents and businesses to speak to us again and let us know if they want these plans to become a reality.”
The stadium issue has been fundamental to Liverpool's recent history, impacting on every facet of the club since they first announced stadium plans in 1999. It was the reluctance of former chairman David Moores to risk the club's future and take a £200m bank loan to pay for a new stadium on Stanley Park that led him to seek a cash-rich buyer for the club.
What followed was the ill-fated decision to sell to Tom Hicks and George Gillett, who pursed an alternative stadium plan worth £400 million that they could never afford to realise. They were forced to sell the club by the Royal Bank of Scotland as the club's debt mounted, and their dysfunctional regime ended with the club dropping out of the Champions League - where they're still trying to get back.
John W. Henry has been trying to deal with this tainted legacy for the last four years and will hope today represents another significant step forward in his vision to rebuild Anfield in the same way he did the Boston Red Sox's spiritual home, Fenway Park.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/10607548/Liverpool-aim-to-submit-planning-application-for-Anfield-redevelopment-before-end-of-season.html
