BIG DEAL: Jurgen Klopp knows what’s coming as Anfield Road stand delays Liverpool inevitable

Further delays to the Anfield Road stand expansion will inevitably equal rising costs for Liverpool FC, with completion now at least five months behind schedule

Jurgen Klopp acknowledges the fans following the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool FC at American Express Community Stadium on October 08, 2023 (Image: Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

When it rains, it pours. Liverpool’s Anfield Road stand expansion project has been stung by yet another delay.

Work will now not be completed until 2024, with the Reds continuing to play in front of reduced 51,000 crowds, with a closed upper tier in the Anfield Road stand, for the rest of the calendar year at least.

Originally scheduled to open in time for the start of the 2023/24 season, the club has battled delays and had to find a new contractor after Buckingham Group filed for administration. This redevelopment has not been a straightforward process.

Consequently, Liverpool’s 21-year wait to finally boast a 60,000 seater stadium continues. And with the club still having no idea when the £80m redevelopment will finally be completed, the end is still nowhere in sight.

From first plotting a new stadium way under David Moores’ watch back in May 2002 before broken promises from doomed owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett scuppered such plans, ‘60,000’ has always been the magic number for the Reds’ new stadium throughout their years of plans. And that remained the case even once FSG decided to redevelop Anfield instead.

Such a total when first concocted would have left their home as the second-biggest club ground in England behind Old Trafford. Now, it’s just the going rate with Tottenham Hotspur’s rebuilt Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (62,850 capacity), West Ham United’s London Stadium (62,500 capacity), and Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium (60,260) all bigger than Anfield along with Man City’s Etihad Stadium (55,017).

Liverpool have taken steps in the right direction towards that desired total under FSG at least, having already expanded the Main Stand ahead of a September 20216 opening. Taking the overall capacity of Anfield to 54,742 prior to developing the Anfield Road stand, that 60,000 capacity is still tantalisingly close despite the ongoing delays as the club are continue to deal with fallout of the Buckingham Group, the initial contractors of the project, going into administration in August..

Work officially commenced in September 2021 with the first sod being turned by manager Jurgen Klopp. But having seen such work take place throughout the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons without affecting Anfield’s overall capacity, this year it has been unavoidable as the club continue to battle hurdles.

Once the redevelopment is complete, it will be worth it of course. The new 61,000 capacity will see Anfield leapfrog Man City’s Etihad Stadium as the fifth-biggest club stadium in England.

Liverpool’s famous ground was an intimidating enough prospect for away sides already, when standing at 44,742 and at 54,742, with that fear-factor in the face of the Reds roar only going to increase further.

Yet these delays inevitably equal rising costs, with completion now at least five months behind schedule. Coming off the back of both the financial ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic and failure to qualify for the Champions League, it is far from ideal for club bosses.

Minority investment from New York based firm Dynasty Equity will at least aid matters. It was confirmed they had bought a small stake in the club last month, in a deal understood to be worth between $100m and $200m, with the move designed to clear the club’s bank debt and not to fund transfer market activity.

Following that confirmation, Klopp shared his delight at the investment coming into the club, even if such funds weren’t to be used to bolster his squad, as he pointed out some of the work FSG had continued to finance off the pitch.

“In this moment in time, we should not forget, we built in recent years, we are now building a new stand which will improve, I’m not sure how that will happen, but improve the best atmosphere in the world anyway,” he told reporters. “Then we built another stand, the Main Stand. We built a training ground, we bought Melwood back.

“A lot of stuff which keeps the club in a healthy state for a long, long time. If somebody comes in and helps us to do so, then it’s absolutely great. It’s not that we need a budget of £200m that we can spend on the team, but the better place we are in, the more we can spend anyway.

“We are in a year where we don’t play Champions League, which we all know is a massive financial blow for a football club, but invested anyway. Improved the team anyway in the summer, which is difficult but possible. So it’s good news, just good news. It is money that will be well used, let me say it like that.”

Much like temporarily reducing Anfield’s capacity, Liverpool have arguably had to take one step backwards to move two steps forward, with it clear just how beneficial it would be to the club financially to qualify for a revamped Champions League next season.

At least a fully-opened Anfield can, if all being well and completed at the start of 2024, aid Klopp’s squad on the pitch for what could be a decisive run-in. The German already knows what’s coming next, after all, as an even greater atmosphere lies in wait.

Of course, once the Anfield redevelopment is finally complete, the obvious question remains what comes next? The desire for further development is inevitable, with demand greater than ever with Klopp at the helm and looking to unleash his 2.0 side after already winning every major honour going.