New Anfield

[dom9]

American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett will submit a revised design to the local council later this month for a 60,000- capacity ground which could eventually hold 80,000.

"The initial capacity will be the 60,000 previously approved, but the design will accommodate an eventual capacity in the high seventies."

Manchester United can fit 76,000 fans into Old Trafford but further expansion would be difficult. So the news that Liverpool are planning a £250m home which could dwarf that of their biggest rivals will delight Anfield fans.

I hate journalists. Why exagerate?

[Howard_lfc]

Great news but having 4k extra seats doesn't mean we'll 'dwarf' Old Toilet.

[The_weatherman]

American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett will submit a revised design to the local council later this month for a 60,000- capacity ground which could eventually hold 80,000.

"The initial capacity will be the 60,000 previously approved, but the design will accommodate an eventual capacity in the high seventies."

Manchester United can fit 76,000 fans into Old Trafford but further expansion would be difficult. So the news that Liverpool are planning a £250m home which could dwarf that of their biggest rivals will delight Anfield fans.

I hate journalists. Why exagerate?

We'll dwarf the Old Toilet by about 2000 seats probably

[reddragon]

American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett will submit a revised design to the local council later this month for a 60,000- capacity ground which could eventually hold 80,000.

"The initial capacity will be the 60,000 previously approved, but the design will accommodate an eventual capacity in the high seventies."

Manchester United can fit 76,000 fans into Old Trafford but further expansion would be difficult. So the news that Liverpool are planning a £250m home which could dwarf that of their biggest rivals will delight Anfield fans.

I hate journalists. Why exagerate?

nowhere does Hicksie say it's going to be 80,000. Not only exagerate but make things up too!

[Jan Molby]

does this not indicate that the new ground will have a capacity of @60,000, with the facility to increase that in the future? we won't be dwarfing it immediately from what i can see, but maybe a small inrease on what old toilet can hold somewhere down the line........
its gonna be wicked to have 60,000 kopites breaking noise level records, never mind 76,000+, but the later may not happen for 5/6 years i would have thought

[Howard_lfc]

Either way - let' see them bleedin' plans !!!

[Yozza]

http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0500liverpoolfc/0100news/tm_headline=anfield-will-be-biggest-in-premiership--say-owners%26method=full%26objectid=19427990%26siteid=50061-name_page.html

Anfield will be biggest in Premiership, say owners

Jul 9 2007

by Jessica Shaughnessy, Liverpool Daily Post

LIVERPOOL FC’s American owners have reaffirmed their plans to make the club’s new stadium the biggest Premiership ground in the country.

Tom Hicks and George Gillett revealed they will submit a revised plan to Liverpool City Council on July 25. It is the first time supporters have been given a concrete time-scale.

The proposals will detail designs for a spectacular 60,000 capacity stadium that could eventually be expanded to host almost 80,000.

This would make Liverpool’s new ground bigger than Manchester United’s stadium at Old Trafford

“The city council’s planners will receive the final plans on July 25,” said Hicks.

“The initial capacity will be the 60,000 previously approved, but the design will accommodate an eventual capacity in the high seventies.”

Soon after their take-over earlier this year, the billionaires ordered a review of the plans for the Stanley Park stadium.

They made the plans for the club’s new home, which will be up and running in 2010, their top priority.

The Daily Post has reported closely on how the pair were always keen to look into ways of increasing the 61,000 capacity in the current proposals.

To completely overhaul the plans and transform the designs into an 80,000 seater-stadium would mean massive delays.

The project team would have to undergo another round of extensive environmental impact assessments, which could take up to a year to complete.

It is hoped that by altering the current plans, with the potential to extend seating capacity once it is completed, the club could by-pass this lengthy and costly process.

But the altered designs are understood to be drastically different in aesthetic terms from the originals. The Kop is believed to be a key feature, but it will be raised and very steep, in order to fit in more rows.

The foundations of the stadium will be lowered to enable the club to build on top of it when required.

There was a mixed response to the news on Liverpool supporters’ internet forums yesterday.

Many fans were trawling websites in search of an elusive picture of the new plans.

Images have been posted on several sites in recent weeks, but none have been confirmed as the true designs and the pictures have all been removed shortly afterwards, adding to the suspense before the plans are officially unveiled.

In a string of discussion threads, fans speculated yesterday about the cost of tickets for the new stadium. But there was an overriding support for building it as big as possible to enable more fans to get into games.

Last night Les Lawson, secretary of the Merseyside branch of the Official LFC Supporters Club, welcomed the plans.

He said: “The current stadium fits 45,000. We have 30,000 season ticket holders and a waiting list of 53,000.

“A stadium with the capacity to fit more and more of these people in is just what the club needs.

“If we are going to rebuild, we need to get it right.”

[dom9]

Getting cup final tickets in the future will be even more difficult once there are 80,000 people going for 18,000 tickets.

[bazza76]

Getting cup final tickets in the future will be even more difficult once there are 80,000 people going for 18,000 tickets.

agreed, lets stay with the current capacity, **** it, we cant be having that

[Howard_lfc]

agreed, lets stay with the current capacity, **** it, we cant be having that

I agree. I've already got a season ticket anyway.

[bazza76]

I agree. I've already got a season ticket anyway.

show off

[Lucky]

http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/


Liverpool FC: We’ll build our new stadium by 2010

Jul 13 2007

By Nick Coligan, Liverpool Echo

THE ECHO can today reveal the detailed timetable to deliver Liverpool FC’s new stadium.

Anfield officials have delivered precise plans to the city council which would lead to work starting in Stanley Park by the end of the year.

Despite calling back the bulldozers who were due to start work in May, the club is confident the 60,000-capacity stadium will still be ready for the start of the 2010 season.

The £280m project’s new timescale was revealed today as city officials waited for the club to unveil its redrawn proposals for New Anfield.


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Reds’ owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks decided to go back to the drawing board after buying the club to see if stadium capacity could be increased beyond 60,000.

As revealed in Monday’s ECHO, the American owners intend to retain the original capacity, but redesign it significantly so it can be expanded later.

Now Liverpool council is being given a firm timescale which the club hopes to stick to. It would mean:

A planning application being lodged on July 25.

The council granting planning permission by the end of October.

Government officials agreeing not to intervene by the end of November.

Work starting at the end of the year.

Councillors will also be asked to agree a 999-year lease for the site to new company Stadco, which is being set up by Liverpool to develop the ground.

The club would have to pay rent of £300,000 a year.

Plans to refurbish the rest of Stanley Park have not changed, although a proposal to convert the Isla Gladstone conservatory into a facility similar to Sefton Park’s palm house has now emerged.

Cllr Berni Turner, executive member for the environment, said: “We are thinking about something like a cafe bar, which would be available for weddings, funerals and bar mitzvahs.”

Rent money received from Liverpool, along with £350,000 a year from the council’s own budget, will be used to maintain the park and conservatory for years to come.

The plans will be discussed by councillors at a meeting next week.

The timetable

JULY 25 , 2007 – this is the date that Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks says the revised plans will be submitted to Liverpool council, a month later than originally planned.

OCTOBER 2007 – the council will then face a race against time to re-examine the proposals and decide whether to grant planning perm-ission. To meet this deadline, the club will have to make sure the scheme is not dramat-ically different to its predecessor in terms of capacity and impact on the surrounding area. The original scheme was approved in summer 2004.

NOVEMBER 2007 – possibly the most crucial date. The government office for the north west will have to decide whether Liverpool’s plans should be “called in” for further investigation, sparking a public inquiry. This would delay the scheme by several months.

Park revamp still on

LIVERPOOL council insisted the stadium review would not affect plans to refurbish the rest of Stanley Park.


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Regardless of any changes to the new ground, it will still contain a community centre. Talks continue about providing extra facilities elsewhere in north Liverpool.

Anfield Plaza, a new district centre of shops, restaurants and homes, will be created on the current stadium site, possibly with the pitch as a centrepiece.

A 24-hour security service, including CCTV, will be set up around the stadium, integrated within a surveillance proposal for the park and Gladstone conservatory.

Improvements to pavements, roads, pedestrian crossings and coach parking are planned, while new park-and-ride sites will be set up and the matchday residents-only parking zone expanded.

Seven-year struggle for new Anfield

June 2000: Plans for 70,000-seater stadium unveiled.

October 2003: Planning application for £80m, 60,000-seater stadium submitted.

July 2004: Permission given.

August 2004: John Prescott agrees not to call in plan.

January 2005: Shared stadium talks collapse.

March 2005: Stadium costs estimated at £120m.

July 2006: Liverpool insist they can afford their share of the now-£190m project.

September 2006: £9m European grant agreed.

February 2007: George Gillett and Tom Hicks take over – work to start within 60 days.

March 2007: Owners discuss increasing capacity with planners.

April 2007: Shared stadium idea finally killed. Work due to start in May.

July 2007: Hicks says new planning application for redesigned 60,000-seater stadium will be submitted at end of month.

Plans for a northern palm house

EXCITING plans could see an historic north Liverpool building turned into the area’s version of the Sefton Park palm house.

The derelict Isla Gladstone conservatory could be restored to its former glory as part of the renovation of Stanley Park.

Council officials have asked experts to draw up a detailed proposal to use the grade II-listed structure as a catering facility.

It could then be leased and run as a commercial enterprise.

The conservatory was designed by Edinburgh firm Mackenzie and Moncur and opened in 1899, 29 years after Stanley Park was created.

[El Jefecito]

What's with the picture they have with the article, is that supposed to be the new ground?

[Kenneth]

What's with the picture they have with the article, is that supposed to be the new ground?

No, it's clearly the old one.

[El Jefecito]

The bowl thing you mean?