Liverpool will submit a planning application to the city council for the proposed £60m expansion of its Anfield Road stand this week following a pause in the process in April due to the uncertainty surrounding the global pandemic.
There is no timescale set for the next stage of the undertaking on account of Covid-19, which would see the addition of around 7,000 seats to that end, taking the stadium’s overall capacity to over 61,000.
As part of the application, Liverpool are also seeking permanent permission to hold concerts and major events at Anfield. A decision is expected in spring next year.
Andy Hughes, the club’s managing director, said: “We have been clear from the start that the expansion would be based on three things: financial viability and sustainability, the successful navigation of the complex planning landscape and with the co-operation of local residents and the community.
“We’d like to thank everyone who has offered a contribution to that consultation process. We feel that we now have a proposal that has been informed by our neighbours, will support the wider economy and provide an opportunity for more of our fans to come to Anfield to support our great team.
“The last nine months without fans in our stadium has driven home our commitment to making Anfield accessible to more fans than ever before and while a high level of uncertainty remains around Covid-19, we would like to be in a position to move ahead with the proposed redevelopment as soon as the time is right which is why we’ve decided to move forward with submitting the planning application.”
Hughes had explained earlier in the year that “the complex build programme for Anfield Road is an 18-month process and needs two clear summer closed-season windows in order for it to be successful."
Liverpool had hoped to complete the process by 2022, but the earliest that could now potentially be done is summer 2023.
