Work continues on the redevelopment of the Anfield Road Stand, while a new pitch has also been laid at the home of the Reds.
While the new Anfield Road Stand was fully operational for the latter stages of last season, there is still an extensive snagging list to carry out for construction company Rayner Rowen, who took on the project after the collapse of the Buckingham Group almost a year ago.
Buckingham entered administration on the eve of last season, leaving Liverpool to find a new contractor and delays on the new stand which began work in 2021.
Work continued throughout last season, with the new upper tier being opened in stages and a new record league attendance being set in March of 60,061.
Now, after a busy summer that saw huge crowds for concerts as Taylor Swift and Pink played at Anfield, work continues on the finishing touches.
Among them has been the issue of the cladding on the underside of the roof in both corners. Scaffolding was required for the area in the corner with the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand.
Meanwhile, the front section of the perspex roof has been removed in order to be replaced after issues arose there.
A significant step has been made with the ‘red wall’ at the back of the lower tier being taken down. That will enable the glass for the front of the hospitality sections to be installed, plus two rows of seats in the back of the lower tier.
Internally, work continues to complete areas such as the hospitality sections and the new undercover fan zone that will be located underneath the stand, effectively where the old Anfield Road itself was.
Anfield’s new pitch
After the concerts at Anfield, the pitch was removed earlier this month and a new pitch installed, as it was last summer.
The pitch is composed of 95 percent grass and five percent artificial fibres – a hybridgrass system that is more durable and able to handle the rigours of football all year round.
Liverpool’s pitch dimensions remain the same for the upcoming season, at 101 by 68 metres.
It will be a lovely green carpet for Arne Slot‘s Reds by the time their friendly against Sevilla rolls around on August 11!
Entire Kop rail seating
There’s also been work on the other end of Anfield, with rail seating being installed across the entire Kop.
The club’s initial trial saw 7,800 rail seats installed on the Kop and lower tier of the Anfield Road Stand, with a second phase adding a further 2,500 rail seats to the Kop.
The latest installation phase took place last summer and saw another 3,000 rail seats added to the famous stand.
Now, work continues for all 12,850 seats of the Kop to be rail seating.
Anfield’s redevelopment
The completion of the Anfield Road Stand will mark the completion of the overall plan to redevelop Anfield and provide a stadium with over 60,000 capacity – which was the promise made by FSG upon purchasing the club in 2010.
Official plans for Anfield’s expansion were first unveiled in 2014, with the original design taking the stadium to 58,800.
Redevelopment took place in two phases. The first phase saw the Main Stand expanded and opened in 2016, taking Anfield’s overall capacity to 54,074.
Plans were then revised for the Anfield Road Stand and phase two of the expansion, enabling a larger overall capacity of close to 61,000.
There are currently no plans to further develop Anfield.
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