Stadium Decision

[Jayesh87]

Decision welcomed by business and tourism leaders

Nov 7 2007

Liverpool Daily Post

BUSINESS and tourism leaders joined fans last night in welcoming the decision.

Jack Stopforth, chief executive of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, said: “It’s obviously the right decision.

“What’s exciting from the community and business perspective is that it’s a trigger for so much badly needed investment.

“We welcome it and look forward to working with the club.”

Martin King, Director of Tourism at The Mersey Partnership said:

“We know the club has a huge impact on the visitor economy of the Liverpool City Region by attracting a very significant number of staying visitors. The Tourist Board recognised this enormous input by presenting them with a special award for contribution to the visitor economy.

“The new stadium, with its increased capacity, will only add to these numbers.”

But Steve Kelly, founder editor of fanzine Through the Wind and the Rain said: “I am not really sure how positive it is, or if they will be able to fill it – the costs seem to be creeping up too.”

Cllr Steve Radford, leader of the minority Liberal group on the council attacked the scheme. He said if Everton had wanted to build in Stanley Park the council would have said “No deal”, but officers had acted like agents of Liverpool FC when they applied for permission.

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[Jayesh87]

Kop was inspiration behind new Liverpool FC stadium

Nov 7 2007

Liverpool Daily Post


GEORGE Gillett and Tom Hicks hired the world's sixth largest firm of architects to redraw a previously approved stadium plan, for what they want to be the "finest stadium in the world".

Paul Hyett, chairman of London and Dallas firm Ryder HKS, headed a team of professionals at yesterday's meeting seeking to win over Anfield people.

Rick Parry, chief executive of Liverpool FC, reaffirmed the club's commitment to the regeneration of the area.

He told the meeting at the Oakmere Conference Centre how the club was working alongside the city council, the Northwest Regional Development Agency and Government Office NW, to restore Stanley Park and improve the area.

Mr Hyett told how a Liverpool FC game against Barcelona was the inspiration for the new design when the Kop Choir was in full flow.

He said: "My colleagues said they had never seen anything like it."

He had pulled out an envelope containing his wage slip and drew a design with a new Kop as a huge 'theatre' at one end of the ground.

"I told my colleagues 'you could hang this whole design off the Kop'," added Mr Hyett, former president of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

"The new owners said their mission was to create for Liverpool the greatest football stadium in the world, and what we have designed is truly iconic."

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[paulcooper4]

I like the bit where some gob****e compares stanley park to central park

[Jayesh87]

Spring start for new Liverpool FC stadium - to be completed by 2011
Nov 7 2007
by Larry Neild and Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post



WORK is expected to start on Liverpool FC’s iconic £400m new home at Stanley Park as early as spring next year, after the scheme was approved by councillors.

The city’s planning committee unanimously approved the ambitious 60,000 seater stadium, which the club’s US owners vow will be “one of the world’s greatest”.

Last night Liverpool FC chief executive Rick Parry said the approval would allow the club to remain competitive in the Premiership.

Speaking before last night’s Champions League clash against Turkish team Besiktas, Mr Parry praised the club’s American owners: “All the credit is down to Tom and George, it is their initiative’’, he said, adding: “Fans and city leaders have been excited.

“We’re setting our sights high. At the end of the day, we want a great team and a great stadium.

“The message for the fans is that it will give us the revenues to make sure we can continue to compete on the pitch.

“That’s the whole purpose of the exercise, its not about building monuments, it’s about generating revenues to make sure we are competitive.”

It comes after it emerged costs of the new stadium had risen to £400m; however no-one was available last night to discuss its detailed financing.

Mr Parry said building work was likely to start as early as next spring, provided Communities Secretary Hazel Blears does not intervene to force a judicial review. But he admitted the facility was not likely to be open until a year after initially projected. “The realistic likelihood is that it will now be ready for 2011.”

The revised plans were ordered by Tom Hicks and George Gillett after their takeover of the club earlier this year.

The designs include a single tier new Kop with a capacity of almost 19,000, at an angle of less than 34 degrees to prevent any ‘cliff edge’ seating.

The stadium will also have the ability to eventually be expanded to 76,000 seats, for which a second planning application will have to be submitted in the future.

Mr Parry described the unanimous approval as “gratifying”, adding: “Another hurdle’s been overcome. It’s good news, we’re very pleased.”

But he said: “We still have a period of waiting. We have to see whether the Secretary of State will call the application in. We hope that isn’t the case, the last one wasn’t.

“There is a period where there can be a legal challenge. We believe that, as last time, any objection would be overcome. But we have to let that run its course.

“All told, the judicial review can be around four months. The earliest work could start would be in the spring of next year.

“We’ve let George and Tom know and it’s fair to say they are very pleased. We haven’t had the chance for lengthy discussions just yet. We were always hopeful because the key point is we have an existing planning consent for a 60,000 stadium.

“This was really just to place the amended design in front of the committee. As it is an exciting and innovative design, we would have been disappointed not to get permission but clearly you cannot take anything for granted. It’s clearly good news. What this will give us the ability to do is to build the structure that is capable of taking significantly more than 60,000.

“All this does is give us the capability of opening the stadium with 60,000, so there will be a fol- low-up application for whatever we decide the capacity to be.

“That doesn’t affect the build or design. The impact will be on the transportation and environ- mental assessment which is a lengthy process and a lot of work.”

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[Jayesh87]

Liverpool FC win the all-clear on £400m stadium
Nov 7 2007 by Nick Coligan, Liverpool Echo

WORK can finally start on Liverpool FC’s new home after the Reds’ £400m stadium scheme won approval.

Diggers are expected to move into Stanley Park in the spring after Liverpool council’s decision to back the drastically redesigned project.

But the Reds’ plans were criticised by some residents, who said their lives were being ruined by matchdays and predicted huge increases in traffic and parking problems.

The council’s decision, which followed a four-and-a-half hour planning committee meeting, finally brings to an end years of uncertainty about Liverpool’s future.

The previous stadium scheme, approved in 2003, was held up amid rumours of funding problems.

American tycoons George Gillett and Tom Hicks demanded a complete redesign when they took over at Anfield earlier this year.

The new proposal still caters for 60,000 fans, but there is space in the ground’s north stand to add up to 16,000 extra seats at a later date, if the council agrees.

A 19,000-seater, single-tier Kop forms the stadium’s centrepiece.

Architect Paul Hyett said: “We sat watching the Barcelona game last season. There was a fantastic flag fluttering across the crowd, which began in the Kop.

“My colleagues had never seen or felt anything like that atmosphere. That evening, we drew the first sketch of what it might be like.”

He added: “The stadium is designed to take 76,000 people if consent is ever granted at a completely separate meeting.

“Bits and pieces will not be tacked on and the corners will not be filled in. Its appearance will never change. Extra seats would be at the north end, where there is potential for an upper tier.”

The current Anfield site will be redeveloped into Anfield Plaza, a public square lined with a hotel, restaurants, bars and leisure facilities.

Reds chief executive Rick Parry said: “We will provide £2.5m to support local regeneration projects and we estimate in due course the development of Anfield Plaza will secure some 700 new jobs.

“The one constant has been the continued commitment to the regeneration of the Anfield and Breckfield area.”

The planning committee unanimously backed the proposal, also asking officials to investigate whether motorists who park illegally near the ground could be given £100 fines.

Chairman Dave Irving said: “We approved this scheme in 2004 and this is basically just an amendment, even though the building is a bit bigger.

“It is an iconic building and I would rather have this scheme than the previous one.”

‘I wish they’d get relegated to the Third Division’

FURIOUS Anfield residents accused Liverpool FC of putting the club’s future ahead of their concerns at yesterday’s meeting.

Catherine Farrelly, of Arkles Lane, secretary of Priory area residents association, said: “I have lived there all my life and I remember when a football match lasted 90 minutes.

“The fans arrived shortly before, on foot, bikes and buses. After the match finished, they left the area and people got on with their lives.

“Unfortunately, today it is big business. People are in it to make a fortune and the residents have to pay the price.”

Dr Alastair Walker, of St Domingo Grove, chairman of Stanley Park preservation society, said: “If any first-year architecture student produced Liverpool’s proposal, he would be given a very low mark.

“Liverpool’s proposal will not enhance Stanley Park, it will destroy it. It would completely obliterate one-third of the park. It may be the worst possible building for any public park.”

Lilian Montgomery, of Utting Avenue, said: “I strongly object to any part of my park being given to a wealthy plc like Liverpool.

“Whenever Liverpool play at home on a Sunday, it causes my church and four others in the area great inconvenience.

“A match is 90 minutes, but hassle time is between three and four hours. I wish they would get relegated to the Third Division.”

Mike Butler, secretary of Anfield regeneration action committee, said: “I want Liverpool to have the best, biggest, world-class football stadium in the country. But I believe Stanley Park is not the best option.”

Fans may need to park in city centre

FANS may be asked to park near the city centre and take the bus to Anfield while the new stadium is being built.

A large car park used by supporters on match days will be swallowed up by the £400m development.

Yesterday’s meeting was told a site in Pall Mall has been identified for car parking during construction, with fans taken to the ground by shuttle bus.

Long-term, the club must find 3,000 park-and-ride spaces for fans – or the new stadium will not be allowed to open to its full capacity.

Instead, it would be limited to just 44,000, the present size of Anfield.

Residents had complained of serious traffic and parking problems in streets around the current ground.

Some said motorists were willing to accept £25 fines for parking illegally and split them between their passengers.

The committee asked officers to consider minimum £100 fines.

Cheese

[Imy]

Liverpool FC win the all-clear on £400m stadium
Nov 7 2007 by Nick Coligan, Liverpool Echo

WORK can finally start on Liverpool FC’s new home after the Reds’ £400m stadium scheme won approval.

Diggers are expected to move into Stanley Park in the spring after Liverpool council’s decision to back the drastically redesigned project.

But the Reds’ plans were criticised by some residents, who said their lives were being ruined by matchdays and predicted huge increases in traffic and parking problems.

The council’s decision, which followed a four-and-a-half hour planning committee meeting, finally brings to an end years of uncertainty about Liverpool’s future.

The previous stadium scheme, approved in 2003, was held up amid rumours of funding problems.

American tycoons George Gillett and Tom Hicks demanded a complete redesign when they took over at Anfield earlier this year.

The new proposal still caters for 60,000 fans, but there is space in the ground’s north stand to add up to 16,000 extra seats at a later date, if the council agrees.

A 19,000-seater, single-tier Kop forms the stadium’s centrepiece.

Architect Paul Hyett said: “We sat watching the Barcelona game last season. There was a fantastic flag fluttering across the crowd, which began in the Kop.

“My colleagues had never seen or felt anything like that atmosphere. That evening, we drew the first sketch of what it might be like.”

He added: “The stadium is designed to take 76,000 people if consent is ever granted at a completely separate meeting.

“Bits and pieces will not be tacked on and the corners will not be filled in. Its appearance will never change. Extra seats would be at the north end, where there is potential for an upper tier.”

The current Anfield site will be redeveloped into Anfield Plaza, a public square lined with a hotel, restaurants, bars and leisure facilities.

Reds chief executive Rick Parry said: “We will provide £2.5m to support local regeneration projects and we estimate in due course the development of Anfield Plaza will secure some 700 new jobs.

“The one constant has been the continued commitment to the regeneration of the Anfield and Breckfield area.”

The planning committee unanimously backed the proposal, also asking officials to investigate whether motorists who park illegally near the ground could be given £100 fines.

Chairman Dave Irving said: “We approved this scheme in 2004 and this is basically just an amendment, even though the building is a bit bigger.

“It is an iconic building and I would rather have this scheme than the previous one.”

‘I wish they’d get relegated to the Third Division’

FURIOUS Anfield residents accused Liverpool FC of putting the club’s future ahead of their concerns at yesterday’s meeting.

Catherine Farrelly, of Arkles Lane, secretary of Priory area residents association, said: “I have lived there all my life and I remember when a football match lasted 90 minutes.

“The fans arrived shortly before, on foot, bikes and buses. After the match finished, they left the area and people got on with their lives.

“Unfortunately, today it is big business. People are in it to make a fortune and the residents have to pay the price.”

Dr Alastair Walker, of St Domingo Grove, chairman of Stanley Park preservation society, said: “If any first-year architecture student produced Liverpool’s proposal, he would be given a very low mark.

“Liverpool’s proposal will not enhance Stanley Park, it will destroy it. It would completely obliterate one-third of the park. It may be the worst possible building for any public park.”

Lilian Montgomery, of Utting Avenue, said: “I strongly object to any part of my park being given to a wealthy plc like Liverpool.

“Whenever Liverpool play at home on a Sunday, it causes my church and four others in the area great inconvenience.

“A match is 90 minutes, but hassle time is between three and four hours. I wish they would get relegated to the Third Division.”

Mike Butler, secretary of Anfield regeneration action committee, said: “I want Liverpool to have the best, biggest, world-class football stadium in the country. But I believe Stanley Park is not the best option.”

Fans may need to park in city centre

FANS may be asked to park near the city centre and take the bus to Anfield while the new stadium is being built.

A large car park used by supporters on match days will be swallowed up by the £400m development.

Yesterday’s meeting was told a site in Pall Mall has been identified for car parking during construction, with fans taken to the ground by shuttle bus.

Long-term, the club must find 3,000 park-and-ride spaces for fans – or the new stadium will not be allowed to open to its full capacity.

Instead, it would be limited to just 44,000, the present size of Anfield.

Residents had complained of serious traffic and parking problems in streets around the current ground.

Some said motorists were willing to accept £25 fines for parking illegally and split them between their passengers.

The committee asked officers to consider minimum £100 fines.

Cheese

The stadium has been there longer then bitter Priory area residents association, I've got a solution for them - SELL UP and leave ******s!