New Stadium Interview

A source close to the design team for the new stadium has revealed that if everything goes to plan the new 60,000 seat stadium should be ready for the 2011/2012 season.

He also revealed that the delays over the past five years have been partly due to plans for the redevelopment of the Anfield area as well as calls for a shared stadium.

“At the moment the design team are working towards a level of design that the contractor can put a price on. All the small details need to be drawn out and specified in order for the cost of building the stadium to be established and then agreed with the Club.”

“The development of a new stadium will act as a catalyst for regeneration of the Anfield area. Stanley Park is a Grade II listed park, it has historic value, and part of the plan was to regenerate the area of Stanley Park. That part was nothing to do with Liverpool Football Club, but one element couldn’t happen without the other. The regeneration of the park is being funded by European grant monies. It then becomes quite complicated to have all the pieces set up at the same time. It was difficult to get that to happen.”

“If you add the political debate of the shared stadium that occurred in 2005 then it becomes even more drawn out. If someone asks the question about a shared stadium with Everton then all parties involved have to answer that question. It got to the point in 2005 when some of those pieces such as grant monies were not in place. The club then had to take stock and reconsider their plans.”

So a lot of the delays from 2003 are not necessarily down to the football club itself. However another big delay came about when the new owners came in. Hicks and Gillett brought new ideas and new plans to the stadium development.

“When new owners come in you cannot do anything to progress the project because they want to evaluate the business.. They have fresh and different ideas and brought in American architects in 2007 to prepare an alternative design.”

Ultimately the buck stops with the two feuding owners and asked whether the stadium would be ready for the 2011/2012 season the source couldn’t say.

“I don’t know. The timetables are decided by the owners and I can’t speak for them. The project is progressing towards an opening for the 2011/2012 season, but there is still a long way to go.”

So it pretty much looks as though until Hicks and Gillett sort out their differences the new stadium will remain on the drawing board. Until then the wait will continue.