Liverpool FC: Ian Ayre says LFC are still examining options over Anfieldâs future
by James Pearce, Liverpool Echo
Oct 12 2011
IAN AYRE insists Liverpool FC are progressing towards a stadium solution â but says there is no time frame over reaching a decision.
A year after Fenway Sports Group's ÂŁ300million takeover the future of Anfield is still no clearer.
The club are continuing to examine both options open to them â building a new ground in Stanley Park or redeveloping their current home.
In an interview with the ECHO, the managing director revealed that Liverpool have whittled down a group of potential naming rights partners for a new ground and are busy assessing plans to increase Anfield's current capacity from 45,000 to either 60,000 or 65,000.
Kirkdale-born Ayre has also praised Liverpool City Council for their ongoing support as the club bid to ensure the decision they reach is the right one.
âIt is essential for us to do something on the stadium,â Ayre said.
âWe are 30,000 seats behind our biggest competitor and thatâs worth a lot of money that we would like to have as well.
âIf we got back in the Champions League and back being a top four club on a consistent basis we would still have that hole â around ÂŁ30million to ÂŁ40million annually â without a bigger stadium.
âWhat a bigger stadium does is get us back on par. How further on are we? We are going in a parallel course.â
Building a ÂŁ300million new stadium in Stanley Park is only viable if Liverpool can secure a suitable naming rights partner.
Arsenal earned around ÂŁ100million for a 15-year deal with the airline Emirates and that kind of fee would pay a sizeable chunk of the construction costs.
âWe have been in discussions here and other parts of the world with a small group of people that we have narrowed down that we are targeting for naming rights,â Ayre said.
âBut just like the (shirt sponsorship) deal we have done with Standard Chartered, you donât go and ask for that size of opportunity overnight.
âWe have to weed through the people who realistically could do it and then work through their organisation and present to a few groups there before getting to the guy who hopefully is going to write the cheque.
âThat is an absolute catalyst to building a new stadium. The economics just donât stack up without it.
âWeâve already got 45,000 seats, so itâs only the incremental seating that is driving revenue. If you do that and look at cost of borrowing and how long it would cost to pay it back and see reward from it, it doesnât work unless you do it with a naming rights partner.
âOther people were looking at it making promises not based on that view. It would be easy for the owners to say âletâs get on with itâ, but if ultimately it doesnât generate any revenue then whatâs the point?
âIt has to be right for the club. Otherwise youâd be investing lots of money in the equity that would otherwise be invested in the team. If you ask fans whether they want 16,000 to 20,000 more seats or five more players, there would be a difference of opinion.â
Redeveloping Anfield has always been owner John Henry's preferred option but it's not straightforward. It would be costly and there are planning issues as well as problems buying up houses nearby.
âThe other side is the refurbishment of Anfield and we have got a design and plans that show what we can achieve,â Ayre said.
âWe could certainly reach the same sort of capacity with a refurbishment as we would a new-build, the 60,000 to 65,000 level.
âBut that comes with its own set of challenges, which are about understanding the acquisition of the properties in and around Anfield, and thatâs a process we are on with at the moment.
âWe are trying to work through the best way to engage with those house owners and residents.
âWhen will the decision be made? Itâll only be when we reach an answer with both. Itâs hard to put a time on it.
âIf you put a deadline on the naming rights, then you start to marginalise the deal.
âWe arenât desperate. We think we have an amazing proposition as one of the biggest clubs in the world. I donât recall any football club of this size with this international reach thatâs ever done a naming rights deal.
âIt is quite unique in that sense. Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United havenât. Nobody else in football has done this at this level. It's new ground and it will take what it takes.â
Earlier this year Liverpool City Council leader Joe Anderson voiced his frustration at the delay in the club's announcement.
But last month the council granted Liverpool FC more time to consider whether they want to take up the lease in Stanley Park which would allow them to build a new ground.
And Ayre insists club officials and the council are now working closely together.
âWe kind of crossed swords eight or nine months ago when everyone was thinking 'there are new owners so we should build it now',â Ayre said.
âIt's settled down and now we have a great relationship with the city council. What they want, which we understand, is an outcome for the residents and for the area - so do we.
âI see (council chief executive) Ged (Fitzgerald) every couple of weeks and we update each other. I see Joe once every four to six weeks.
âThe difference before was we were ploughing our course and they were ploughing theirs. Now we're very much working together and that's helped everybody.
âWe put together a working group with them and we have been very open with them â because of that they have a better understanding of exactly where we are, who we're talking to and what that means.
âThey know we have three choices, refurbish Anfield, build a new stadium or do nothing. If we do nothing then it doesn't benefit anyone. We have to make it happen. We can't do that without the council's support.â
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