Managing director of the Liverpool Football Club, Ian Ayre, said in a statement this week that the new infrastructure needed by the club is facing major challenges in its realization. Liverpool needs significantly greater capacity for its fans in order to compete with Arsenal and Manchester United, whose gameday revenues are much higher. However, Ayre said, there are so many problems with land acquisition and planning and environmental regulations that the process is painfully slow.
Over the past few months it has become apparent that the expansion of Liverpool’s existing Anfield stadium to a 60,000 capacity would be preferable both in terms of cost and in long-term benefit to fans and players compared to the option of a new stadium to be built at Stanley Park. Unfortunately, this course of action presents an array of difficulties, for reasons that some feel are just bureaucratic maneuverings.
The fact is that refurbishing and enlarging Anfield would involve a temporary reduction of facilities during the process, as well as costs for acquiring rights to the surrounding property and conforming to many of the City Council’s requirements for such construction. If Liverpool could make a deal such as the one Manchester just announced with Etihad Airways, which is reported to be worth around £150m over the next 10 years, it would enable them to go with a new stadium.
Mr. Ayre has noted that Liverpool is in discussion with several brands about naming rights for a new stadium, but so far there has been no inclination to rename the old one. At present the decision about which way to go on the issue has not been made, but the club is under pressure to make a committment one way or the other. Ayre insisted in his recent statement that the goal is to find the “best possible long-term solution” for the team and its supporters.