One of John Henry's first tasks upon taking over ownership of Premier League power Liverpool last October was to settle the club's stadium crisis.
Anfield, the 45,276-seat venue that opened in 1884, has been the Reds' home since their founding in 1892 but has since grown outdated. Plans were made under old ownership to build a new stadium, but when Fenway Sports Group took over, Henry hinted that redeveloping Anfield would be preferential to building a new stadium.
Nine months later, Henry and company may be reconsidering their plans. Henry declared on his Twitter page that while redeveloping Anfield remains the top option, doing so will be difficult.
"Anfield would certainly be our first choice," Henry said via Twitter. "But realities may dictate otherwise. So many obstacles…"
The club is hoping to increase home stadium capacity to better compete with league rivals Manchester United and Arsenal, who play at Old Trafford (76,212 capacity) and Emirates Stadium (60,355), respectively. In order to rebuild stands at Anfield, however, there are numerous logistical and financial hurdles to overcome, which may make building a new venue the more realistic choice.
The club's focus has turned to finding a naming rights partner for a potential new stadium, which would help pay for the cost of the building.
The Liverpool City Council gave the team until September to decide on accepting a 999-year lease for property in Stanley Park, a 110-acre park in Northern Liverpool. It is assumed that if the club were to build a new stadium, it would be housed in Stanley park.
