Published on 24.11.2023
Liverpool intends to partially open the upper tier of the new Anfield Road stand during their game against Manchester United on 17 December.
The football club is currently undergoing a major £80m renovation project in order to increase its capacity by 7,000 seats, bringing the total to 61,000.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the opening of the stadium has been pushed back to 2024. This delay occurred when Liverpool decided to switch contractors from Buckingham Group to Rayner Rowen Group after the former went into administration.
However, despite these setbacks, it is expected that approximately half of the upper tier will be accessible for the upcoming match against Manchester United. Of course, this will depend on receiving safety approval for that section.
If all goes as planned and safety standards are met, fans can also look forward to having access to parts of the upper tier for matches against West Ham, Arsenal, and Newcastle United later in December.
“The forthcoming fixture against Manchester United on December 17th will see partial opening of our new stand’s upper tier. We anticipate a number of general admission seats being made available for supporters,” confirmed sources from Liverpool Football Club.
An internal emergency conditions test, organized in collaboration with Liverpool City Council and a public test event, is anticipated to occur during the week starting December 11. This unexpected development comes sooner than anticipated due to Buckingham Group going into administration in September. It serves as evidence of the dedication and effort put forth by everyone involved in this intricate and ambitious construction project. However, there are still tasks remaining that need to be finished before the stand can be fully functional and capable of accommodating 61,000 fans at Anfield on matchdays.
Originally, the completion of the work was planned to be done before the 2023-24 season began. However, only the lower tier of the stand has been accessible to fans during this season. The stadium’s capacity has been reduced to 50,000.
