For the first time in generations, Anfield is set to grow again.
Liverpool confirmed Thursday that expansion work on Anfield’s Main Stand will begin in early 2015. The Main Stand expansion project will add an additional 8,500 seats to Liverpool’s iconic stadium, and it should be completed by the start of the 2016-17 season, according to LiverpoolFC.com.
“Since Fenway Sports Group took ownership of the club, we were committed to explore in depth all options for the future of Anfield Stadium,” Liverpool chairman Tom Werner said. “We listened to fans, the community, partners, the Supporters’ Committee and key stakeholders involved in the club.
“It was just over two years ago that we said our preference was to stay at Anfield and here we are today announcing that the expansion is going ahead. We have made more progress in the past two years than in the last decade.
“Having experience of expanding Fenway Park (in Boston, Mass.) and being through a similar and very successful project for the Red Sox, everyone at FSG is extremely proud and excited to be part of expanding Anfield Stadium.”
The Main Stand will seat 21,000 fans and increase Anfield’s total capacity to 54,000 after the project’s completion. The new Main Stand will be three tiers, making it one of Europe’s largest all-seater stands.
The project also will include a two-story podium which will house the Hillsborough Memorial, and a wide public concourse outside of the stadium, which links Anfield to the surrounding neighborhood.
