Liverpool’s new £80m Anfield Road stand will not be fully open for the first home game of the season as planned and is not expected to reach 100% capacity until October.
Work on the ambitious project started in September 2021 and Liverpool had hoped it would be completed in time for Bournemouth’s visit to Anfield on 19 August, having requested their opening Premier League game be played away from home. However, only the existing lower tier will be open against Bournemouth.
The new upper tier, that will increase Anfield’s total capacity to 61,000, is not expected to open until after September’s international break. It will then be opened in incremental phases with the main contractor, Buckingham Group, now scheduling a finish in October. The redeveloped main stand at Anfield was also opened in phases in 2016, when Liverpool played their first four games of the season away from home before hosting Leicester on 10 September.
Liverpool’s managing director, Andy Hughes, said: “This has been a hugely ambitious and complex construction project right from the start and I would like to thank everyone who has played a part. Unfortunately, the upper tier of the Anfield Road stand is not quite ready for the Bournemouth game. The main contractor, Buckingham, will therefore work with Liverpool city council’s licensing team to deliver a phased opening process. As with any complex major construction project of this scale, there are always so many variables and challenges along the way.
“We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding while we work through the next few weeks with Buckingham to complete this programme and we can’t wait to have this great new Anfield Road stand fully open for supporters.”
Liverpool have confirmed that all non-contractual seats will be made available to fans in the ballot during the phased opening. There will not be a members’ ballot for the Bournemouth game. Once completed, the new Anfield Road stand will create an additional 400 match-day jobs, increasing the average match-day total to 2,800.
