Anfield is a
football stadium in
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...
,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, Merseyside, England, which has a
seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
of 53,394, making it the
seventh largest football stadium in England.
It has been the home of
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...
since their formation in 1892. It was originally the home of
Everton from 1884 to 1891, before they moved to
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a association football, football stadium in the Walton, Liverpool, Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area ...
after a dispute with the club president.
The stadium has four stands: the
Spion Kop, the Main Stand, the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand and the Anfield Road End. The record attendance of 61,905 was set at a match between Liverpool and
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
in 1952. The ground converted to an
all-seater stadium
An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football a ...
in 1994 as a result of the
Taylor Report
The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, ...
, which reduced its capacity.
Two gates at the stadium are named after former Liverpool managers:
Bill Shankly and
Bob Paisley. Both managers have been honoured with statues outside the stadium: Shankly's unveiled in 1997 by the Kop Stand and Paisley's in 2020 by the Main Stand. The ground is from
Liverpool Lime Street railway station
Liverpool Lime Street is a terminus railway station and the main station serving the city centre of Liverpool. Opened in August 1836, it is the oldest still-operating grand terminus mainline station in the world. A branch of the West Coast M ...
. It was proposed in 2002 to replace the stadium with a new one in the adjacent
Stanley Park
Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and ...
, but after the acquisition of Liverpool F.C. by
Fenway Sports Group
Fenway Sports Group Holdings, LLC (FSG), is an American multinational sports holding conglomerate who own Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox, Premier League club Liverpool F.C., and the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins.
FSG wa ...
in 2010 it was made clear this would not happen.
Construction for an extension to the main stand began on 8 December 2014.
["Carillion to start work on £75m Anfield expansion"]
The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 January 2015 This extension, one of the largest all-seater single stands in European football, opened to the public on 9 September 2016, increasing the stadium capacity to 53,394.
The Anfield Road Stand is currently being redeveloped to bring the stadium capacity to around 61,000. It is due to be completed in time for the 2023–24 season.
History
![Houlding memorial, Liverpool FC 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Houlding_memorial%2C_Liverpool_FC_1.jpg)
The stadium is named after the surrounding area,
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...
. The word originated in the combination of
Old and
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...
words, which mean "a field on a slope". Anfield, and its deviations, has been associated with the area since at least 1642. It has been suggested that the name is linked to the
influx of Irish people into the spreading city in the 1850s, and was associated with Annefield, outside
New Ross,
County Wexford,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. Opened in 1884, Anfield was originally owned by John Orrell, a minor land owner who was a friend of
Everton F.C. member
John Houlding
John Houlding ( – 17 March 1902) was an English businessman, most notable for being Lord Mayor of Liverpool, and the founder of Liverpool Football Club. In November 2018, Houlding was commemorated with a bronze bust outside Anfield to mark th ...
. Everton, who previously played at Priory Road, were in need of a new venue owing to the noise produced by the crowd on match days.
Orrell lent the pitch to the club in exchange for a small rent. The first match at the ground was between Everton and Earlestown on 28 September 1884, which Everton won 5–0. During Everton's tenure at the stadium, stands were erected for some of the 8,000-plus spectators regularly attending matches, although the ground was capable of holding around 20,000 spectators and occasionally did. The ground was considered of international standard at the time, playing host to the
British Home Championship match between
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
in 1889. Anfield's first league match was played on 8 September 1888, between Everton and
Accrington F.C.
Accrington Football Club was an English football club from Accrington, Lancashire, who were one of the founder members of The Football League.
History
Accrington F.C. was formed following a meeting at a local public house in 1876. The '' ...
Everton quickly improved as a team, and became Anfield's first league champions in the
1890–91 season.
In 1892, negotiations to purchase the land at Anfield from Orrell escalated into a dispute between Houlding and the Everton F.C. committee over how the club was run. Events culminated in Everton's move to
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a association football, football stadium in the Walton, Liverpool, Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area ...
.
Houlding was left with an empty stadium, and decided to form a new club to occupy it. The new team was called
Liverpool F.C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd, and the club's first match at Anfield was a
friendly played in front of 200 people on 1 September 1892, against
Rotherham Town. Liverpool won 7–1.
[Kelly (1988). p. 187.]
![FlagpoleGreatEasternLFC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/FlagpoleGreatEasternLFC.jpg)
Liverpool's first
Football League match at Anfield was played on 9 September 1893, against
Lincoln City. Liverpool won 4–0 in front of 5,000 spectators. A new stand capable of holding 3,000 spectators was constructed in 1895 on the site of the present Main Stand. Designed by architect
Archibald Leitch
Archibald Keir Leitch (27 April 1865 – 25 April 1939) was a Scottish architect, most famous for his work designing football stadiums throughout Great Britain and Ireland.
Early work
Born in Glasgow, Leitch's early work was on designing ...
, the stand had a distinctive red and white
gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
, and was similar to the main stand at
Newcastle United's ground
St James' Park
St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England.
St James' Pa ...
.
Another stand was constructed at the Anfield Road end in 1903, built from timber and
corrugated iron
Corrugated galvanised iron or steel, colloquially corrugated iron (near universal), wriggly tin (taken from UK military slang), pailing (in Caribbean English), corrugated sheet metal (in North America) and occasionally abbreviated CGI is a ...
. After Liverpool had won their second League championship in
1906, a new stand was built along the Walton Breck Road. Local journalist Ernest Edwards, who was the sports editor of newspapers the ''
Liverpool Daily Post
The ''Liverpool Post'' was a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The newspaper and its website ceased publication on 19 December 2013.
Until 13 January 2012 it was a daily morning newspaper, with the ti ...
'' and ''
Echo
In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...
'', named it the
Spion Kop; it was named after a
famous hill in South Africa where a local regiment had suffered heavy losses during the
Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...
in 1900. More than 300 men had died, many of them from Liverpool, as the British army attempted to capture the strategic hilltop. Around the same period a stand was also built along Kemlyn Road.
[Kelly (1988). p. 117.]
The ground remained much the same until 1928, when the Kop was redesigned and extended to hold 30,000 spectators, all standing. A roof was erected as well. Many stadia in England had stands named after the Spion Kop. Anfield's was the largest Kop in the country at the time—it was able to hold more supporters than some entire football grounds.
In the same year the
topmast
The masts of traditional sailing ships were not single spars, but were constructed of separate sections or masts, each with its own rigging. The topmast is one of these.
The topmast is semi-permanently attached to the upper front of the lower ...
of the , one of the first iron ships, was rescued from the
ship breaking yard at nearby
Rock Ferry
Rock Ferry is an area of Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Administratively it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the county of Cheshire. At the ...
, and was hauled up Everton Valley by a team of horses, to be erected alongside the new Kop. It still stands there, serving as a flag pole.
Floodlight
A floodlight is a broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions. More focused kinds are often used as a stage ...
s were installed at a cost of £12,000 in 1957. On 30 October they were switched on for the first time for a match against Everton to commemorate the 75-year anniversary of the
Liverpool County Football Association
The Liverpool County Football Association, simply known as the Liverpool FA, is the County Football Association in the city of Liverpool, England. It runs several league and cup competitions in the city.
Organisation
The aim of the Liverpool ...
.
In 1963 the old Kemlyn Road stand was replaced by a
cantilever
A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...
ed stand, built at a cost of £350,000, accommodating 6,700 spectators.
[Inglis (1983). p. 210.] Two years later alterations were made at the Anfield Road end, turning it into a larger covered standing area with refreshments under the structure. The biggest redevelopment came in 1973, when the old Main Stand was partially demolished and extended backwards with new roof. Simultaneously the concrete pylon floodlights were demolished with new lights installed along the rooflines of the Kemlyn Road and Main Stands. The new stand was officially opened by
the Duke of Kent
Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of King George V. Since 1942, the title has been held by Prince Edwar ...
on 10 March 1973.
In the 1980s the paddock in front of the Main Stand was turned into seating, and in 1982 seats were introduced at the Anfield Road end. The Shankly Gates were erected in 1982, a tribute to former manager
Bill Shankly; his widow Nessie unlocked them for the first time on 26 August 1982.
Across the Shankly Gates are the words ''You'll Never Walk Alone'', the title of the
hit song
A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...
by
Gerry and the Pacemakers
Gerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin. Their early successes alongsid ...
adopted by Liverpool fans as the club's anthem during Shankly's time as manager.
Coloured seats and a police room were added to the Kemlyn Road stand in 1987. After the
Hillsborough disaster in 1989 when Police mismanagement led to overcrowding and the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans, the
Taylor Report
The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, ...
recommended that all grounds in the country should be converted into all-seater grounds by May 1994. A second tier was added to the Kemlyn Road stand in 1992, turning it into a double-decker layout. It included
executive boxes and
function suites as well as 11,000 seating spaces. Plans to expand the stand had been made earlier, with the club buying up houses on Kemlyn Road during the 1970s, and 1980s, but had to be put on hold until 1990 because two sisters, Joan and Nora Mason, refused to sell their house. When the club reached an agreement with the sisters in 1990, the expansion plans were put into action. The stand—renamed the Centenary Stand—was officially opened on 1 September 1992 by
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
president
Lennart Johansson
Nils Lennart Johansson (5 November 1929 – 4 June 2019) was a Swedish sports official who served as the fifth and, to date, longest-serving president of UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations. He served in the position from his elec ...
. The Kop was rebuilt in 1994 after the recommendations of the Taylor Report and became all seated; it is still a single tier, and the capacity was significantly reduced to 12,390.
![You'll Never Walk Alone (13976345652)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/You%27ll_Never_Walk_Alone_%2813976345652%29.jpg)
On 4 December 1997, a bronze statue of Bill Shankly was unveiled at the visitors' centre in front of the Kop. Standing at over tall, the statue depicts Shankly with a fan's scarf around his neck, in a familiar pose he adopted when receiving applause from fans. Inscribed on the statue are the words "Bill Shankly – He Made The People Happy". The Hillsborough memorial was situated alongside the Shankly Gates before it was moved next to 96 Avenue in front of the redeveloped main stand in 2016.
The memorial is always decorated with flowers and tributes to the 96 people who died in 1989 as a result of the disaster. At the centre of the memorial is an
eternal flame
An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can ...
, signifying that those who died will never be forgotten.
In 1998 a new two-tier Anfield Road end was opened. The stand has encountered a number of problems since its redevelopment; at the beginning of the
1999–2000 season, a series of support poles and
stanchion
A stanchion () is a sturdy upright fixture that provides support for some other object. It can be a permanent fixture.
Types
In architecture stanchions are the upright iron bars in windows that pass through the eyes of the saddle bars or horizo ...
s had to be brought in to give extra stability to the top tier of the stand. During
Ronnie Moran
Ronald Moran (28 February 1934 – 22 March 2017) was a Liverpool captain and coach who twice served as caretaker manager in the early 1990s.
Having spent his entire playing career at the club, he then became a member of the Boot Room coaching ...
's
testimonial match
A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...
against
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
, many fans complained of movement of the top tier. At the same time that the stanchions were inserted, the executive seating area was expanded by two rows in the main stand, lowering the
seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
in the paddock.
On 30 January 2020, a bronze statue of Bob Paisley was unveiled outside the Main Stand in Paisley Square. The statue was commissioned and donated by the club's main sponsor, Standard Chartered, to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the relationship with the club. The statue is tall and depicts an iconic image of the club's history, Paisley carrying future club captain Emlyn Hughes off the field during a match against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield in April 1968.
Structures and facilities
![Anfield outline](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Anfield_outline.svg)
Anfield comprises 53,394 seats split between four stands: the Anfield Road end, the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand, the Kop, and the Main Stand. The Anfield Road end and Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand are two-tiered, while the Kop is single-tiered and the Main Stand three-tiered.
Entry to the stadium is gained by
radio-frequency identification (RFID)
smart cards rather than the traditional staffed
turnstile
A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a ...
. This system, used in all 80 turnstiles around Anfield, was introduced in 2005.
Plans to replace Anfield with a new 60,000-capacity stadium in adjacent
Stanley Park
Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and ...
were initiated in 2002. The plans were revisited under the ownership of
Tom Hicks
Thomas Ollis Hicks Sr. (born February 7, 1946), is an American private equity investor and sports team owner living in Dallas, Texas. ''Forbes'' magazine estimated Hicks' wealth at $1 billion in 2009, but it dropped to $700 million in 2010 ...
and
George Gillett. Following the acquisition of Liverpool F.C. by
Fenway Sports Group
Fenway Sports Group Holdings, LLC (FSG), is an American multinational sports holding conglomerate who own Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox, Premier League club Liverpool F.C., and the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins.
FSG wa ...
in 2010, the owners have abandoned the proposed new stadium in Stanley Park, preferring instead to redevelop and expand Anfield, thus echoing their decision to renovate
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...
.
The
Kop is a large single-tiered stand. Originally a large terraced banking providing accommodation for more than 30,000 spectators, the current incarnation was constructed in 1994–95 and is single-tiered with no executive boxes. The Kop houses the club's museum, the Reducate centre and the official club shop. The Kop is the most-renowned stand at Anfield among home and away supporters, with the people who occupy the stand referred to as ''kopites''. Such is the reputation of the stand that it was claimed that the crowd in the Kop could suck the ball into the goal. Traditionally, Liverpool's most vocal supporters congregate in this stand.
![This is Anfield](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/This_is_Anfield.jpg)
The oldest stand at Anfield is the Main Stand, taking 76 years to complete. The stand was completed in 2016, however, the lower section dates from 1906. The bottom tier of the stand houses the directors' box. The directors' VIP box is located at the rear of the lower tier of the stand. The old large roof was supported by two thin central uprights, with a large suspended television camera gantry which has moved to the front of the third tier. The players' tunnel and the technical area where the managers and substitutes sit during the match are in the middle of the stand at pitch level. Above the stairs leading down to the pitch hung a sign stating "THIS IS ANFIELD". Its purpose was to both intimidate the opposition and to bring the Liverpool players who touch it good luck. Accordingly, Liverpool players and coaching staff traditionally reached up and placed one or both hands on it as they passed underneath.
The sign was temporarily removed during the most recent reconstruction of the Main Stand; it was placed at the exit from the new Main Stand tunnel to the pitch in advance of Liverpool's
2016–17 home opener. Current Liverpool manager
Jürgen Klopp
Jürgen Norbert Klopp (; born 16 June 1967) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Liverpool. He is widely regarded as one of the best managers in the world.
Klopp spent most of his playing ...
had banned players from touching the restored sign until the team had won at least one major trophy. After winning the
2019 UEFA Champions League Final players are now allowed to do so again. Praising the impact the Anfield atmosphere has on the home team and the effect it has on the away team, opposition manager
Pep Guardiola states, “The motto ‘This is Anfield’ is no marketing spin. There's something about it that you will find in no other stadium in the world.” Following the
2005 Champions League semi-final second leg at Anfield which Liverpool won 1–0, defeated Chelsea manager
José Mourinho recognised the role Liverpool fans played on the match: "I felt the power of Anfield, it was magnificent."
![Anfield Stadium - IMG 2164](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Anfield_Stadium_-_IMG_2164.JPG)
The Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand is a two-tiered stand. Originally a single-tiered stand called the Kemlyn Road Stand, the second tier was added in 1992 to coincide with the club's centenary.
It is located opposite the Main Stand and houses directors' boxes, which are between the two tiers. The stand also houses the ground's police station.
On 3 May 2017, Liverpool announced the Centenary Stand would be renamed the Kenny Dalglish Stand in honour of the club's greatest servant, former player and manager
Kenny Dalglish.
The Anfield Road stand, on the left side of the Main Stand, houses the
away fans during matches. The Anfield Road End was rebuilt in 1965, and multi-coloured seats were added in 1982. Originally a single-tier stand, a further revamp, which was completed in 1998, gave the stand a second-tier providing additional seating.
There are 59 spaces available in the stadium to accommodate
wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...
users who have season tickets; a further 33 spaces are available for general sale and 8 are allocated to away supporters. These spaces are located in the Main Stand, Anfield Road Stand and The Kop. There are 38 spaces available for the
visually impaired
Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment ...
, which are situated in the old paddock area of the Main Stand, with space for one
personal assistant
A personal assistant, also referred to as personal aide (PA) or personal secretary (PS), is a job title describing a person who assists a specific person with their daily business or personal task,. it is a sub-specialty of secretarial duties ...
each. A headset with full
commentary
Commentary or commentaries may refer to:
Publications
* ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee
* Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...
is provided.
The stadium features tributes to two of the club's most successful managers. The Paisley Gateway is a tribute to
Bob Paisley, who guided Liverpool to three
European Cups and six
League Championships in the 1970s, and 1980s. The gates were erected at the Kop; their design includes representations of the three European Cups Paisley won during his tenure, the crest of his birthplace in
Hetton-le-Hole
Hetton-le-Hole is a town situated in the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. It is in the historic county of Durham. A182 runs through the town, between Houghton-le-Spring and Easington Lane (the latter borders the County Durham Distr ...
, and the crest of Liverpool F.C. The Shankly Gates, in tribute of
Bill Shankly, Paisley's predecessor between 1959 and 1974, are at the Anfield Road end. Their design includes a Scottish flag, a Scottish thistle, the Liverpool badge, and the words "You'll Never Walk Alone".
Redevelopment
Abandoned new stadium plans
![Liverpool v Chelsea, 2005](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Liverpool_v_Chelsea%2C_2005.jpg)
Plans to replace Anfield were originally started by Liverpool F.C. in May 2002.
The proposed capacity was 55,000, but it was later changed to 61,000, with 1,000 seats given for segregation between home and away fans. Several attempts were made between 2003 and 2007 by the
Liverpool City Council to instigate a
groundshare
A groundshare, also known as a shared stadium or shared arena, is the principle of sharing a stadium between two local sports teams. This is usually done for the purpose of reducing the costs of either construction of two separate facilities and r ...
of the proposed stadium with local rivals Everton, but this move was rejected, as neither club favoured it. On 30 July 2004 Liverpool was granted planning permission to build a new stadium away from Anfield at Stanley Park. On 8 September 2006 Liverpool City Council agreed to grant Liverpool F.C. a
999-year lease A 999-year lease, under historic common law, is an essentially permanent lease of property. The lease locations are mainly in Britain, its former colonies, and the Commonwealth.
A former colony, the Republic of Mauritius (''The Raphael Fishing Comp ...
of the land on the proposed site.
Following the takeover of Liverpool F.C. on 6 February 2007 by
George Gillett and
Tom Hicks
Thomas Ollis Hicks Sr. (born February 7, 1946), is an American private equity investor and sports team owner living in Dallas, Texas. ''Forbes'' magazine estimated Hicks' wealth at $1 billion in 2009, but it dropped to $700 million in 2010 ...
, the proposed stadium was redesigned. In November 2007 the redesigned layout was approved by the council, and construction was due to start in early 2008. The new stadium, provisionally called
Stanley Park Stadium
Stanley Park was a proposed football stadium in Stanley Park, Liverpool that if built, would have become home to Liverpool Football Club, replacing their current stadium Anfield. The stadium had a planned capacity of 60,000 (potentially expandabl ...
, was to be built by
HKS, Inc.
HKS, Inc. is an American international architecture firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas (USA).
History
The firm was founded in 1939 by Harwood K. Smith.
In 2002, HKS expanded its international presence by opening HKS Arquitectos in Mex ...
It was scheduled to open in August 2011 with a capacity of 60,000. If the new stadium had been built, Anfield would have been demolished. The land would have become home to the centrepiece for the Anfield Plaza development, which would have included a hotel, restaurants, and offices. However, the construction of Stanley Park was delayed following the
economic crisis of 2008
The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At t ...
and the subsequent
recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...
, which directly affected the then American owners. The situation was worsened because the club was bought with
borrowed money, not the owners'
capital, and interest rates were higher than expected.
Hicks and Gillett promised to begin work on the stadium within 60 days of acquisition of the club, but had trouble financing the estimated £500 million needed for the Stanley Park development. The deadline passed and the plan was eventually cancelled by the Fenway Sports Group, as their preference was to re-develop Anfield.
Anfield redevelopment
The acquisition of Liverpool F.C. by
Fenway Sports Group
Fenway Sports Group Holdings, LLC (FSG), is an American multinational sports holding conglomerate who own Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox, Premier League club Liverpool F.C., and the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins.
FSG wa ...
in October 2010 put into question whether Liverpool would leave Anfield. In February 2011 the new club owner,
John W. Henry
John William Henry II (born September 13, 1949) is an American businessman and investor and the founder of John W. Henry & Company, an investment management firm. He is the principal owner of Liverpool Football Club, the Boston Red Sox, ''The B ...
, stated he had a preference for staying at Anfield and expanding the capacity. After attending a number of games at Anfield, Henry stated that "the Kop is unrivalled", adding "it would be hard to replicate that feeling anywhere else".
On 15 October 2012, Liverpool City Council announced plans to regenerate the Anfield area after securing a £25m grant, with a housing association also set to invest.
On 23 August 2013 Anfield was listed as an Asset of Community Value by Liverpool City Council. On 11 September, current owner, John W. Henry announced that they had the funds to afford the expansion but they are waiting for the City Council to finalise the purchase of houses in the area before they commit to plans to expand the Main Stand and the Anfield Road end of the ground.
In April 2014 Liverpool F.C. signed a legal agreement with Liverpool City Council and Your Housing Group to redevelop the surrounding Anfield area. This was seen as a significant step towards the renovation of the stadium. The redevelopment was worth around £260 million.
Phase one (2015–16): Main Stand redevelopment
In April 2014, Liverpool F.C. revealed plans for an expansion of the Main Stand, which involved adding a new third tier, new matchday facilities and enhanced corporate facilities. The new stand would add 8,500 seats and take the capacity of the stadium to 54,742.
Construction of the new Main Stand was made possible by the complete demolition of all the houses in Lothair Road as well as some of those on neighbouring Alroy Road and Anfield Road.
Liverpool F.C. had started to purchase housing immediately surrounding Anfield in 2000.
The houses were left empty, including at least 22 in the roads backing onto the main stand, and Liverpool were accused of deliberately allowing the area to become blighted, thus depressing the property prices.
Work began on 8 December 2014, with the club aiming for the new stand to be match-ready and operational for the start of the
2016–17 season. The work was undertaken by
Carillion. The structure of new stand was uniquely constructed around the existing main stand to enable the existing stand to continue to be used at full operational capacity during the 2015–16 season. Demolition of the existing stand took place in summer 2016, allowing for the construction of the lower tiers of the new stand during the off-season. Consisting of 1.8 million bricks and blocks and over 5000 tonnes of steel, the stand was opened on schedule on 9 September 2016 for the first home game of the 2016–17 season, a 4–1 victory over
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
. Further internal construction work including new changing rooms and media facilities continued until April 2017.
New club superstore and matchday experience enhancements (2016–17)
In May 2016, outline planning permission was granted by Liverpool council for the construction of a new 1,800 sq m club superstore development, situated on Walton Breck Road on the corner of the Kop and the new Main Stand. Construction began in December 2016, with the store opening early in the 2017–18 season. The space between the new store and the stadium was developed into a "fan zone", with new catering outlets and pre-match entertainment.
Phase two (2021–23): Anfield Road End redevelopment
![Anfield Main Stand exterior](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Anfield_Main_Stand_exterior.jpg)
The second phase of Anfield's redevelopment is to redevelop the Anfield Road stand. The club received initial outline planning permission in 2014 for the redevelopment, with seating to be increased by 4,825, giving Anfield a total capacity of 58,000. However, in August 2019, Liverpool allowed the planning permission associated with the original 2014 designs to lapse, confirming their intention to submit "ambitious new plans" for the Anfield Road End redevelopment which are believed to increase the capacity further to take the overall capacity of Anfield to comfortably above 60,000. The redevelopment will focus on the upper tier of the stand, with the lower tier remaining unchanged. Construction work will be completed behind the existing stand and, according to current plans, will be connected to the lower tier in the off-season in 2022. Therefore, Anfield's capacity is not expected to be affected throughout the duration of the works.
The club spent the second half of 2019 finalising plans and consulting local residents, planning officials and other stakeholders with a view to submitting the new plans for approval in early 2020. However, in March 2020 Liverpool delayed submitting a planning application for the project in light of financial uncertainty caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
In December 2020, Liverpool announced that they would be moving forward with the project by submitting final planning application for the redevelopment, with the delay pushing back the initial completion date for Phase Two redevelopment from summer 2022 to summer 2023 at the earliest.
The plans were approved by the
Liverpool City Council in June 2021. The expansion is expected to cost £60 million and will allow Anfield Road stand to seat 7,000 more people, giving the stadium a total capacity of 61,000.
Work officially commenced on 30 September 2021, with
the first sod being turned by manager
Jürgen Klopp
Jürgen Norbert Klopp (; born 16 June 1967) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Liverpool. He is widely regarded as one of the best managers in the world.
Klopp spent most of his playing ...
. The stand is expected to be ready for the 2023–24 season and will also see the relocation of the Family Park to a covered position.
Other uses
Anfield has hosted numerous international matches, and was one of the venues used during
UEFA Euro 1996
The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
; the ground hosted three group games and a quarter-final. The first international match hosted at Anfield was between
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, in 1889. England won the match 6–1. Anfield was also the home venue for several of England's international football matches in the early 1900s, and for the
Welsh national team
)
, Association = Football Association of Wales (FAW)
, Confederation = UEFA (Europe)
, Coach = Rob Page
, Captain = Gareth Bale
, Most caps = Gareth Bale (111)
, Top scorer = Gareth ...
in the later part of that century.
[Kelly (1988). p. 118.] Anfield has also played host to five FA Cup semi-finals, the last of which was in 1929.
The most recent international to be hosted at Anfield was England's 2–1 victory over
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
on 1 March 2006. England has played two testimonial matches against Liverpool at Anfield. The first was in 1983, when England faced Liverpool for
Phil Thompson
Philip Bernard Thompson (born 21 January 1954) is an English retired footballer, who played as a defender for Liverpool team of the 1970s and 1980s. During this time, he also represented the England national football team on 42 occasions, and ...
's testimonial. Then, in 1988, England visited again for
Alan Hansen
Alan David Hansen (born 13 June 1955) is a Scottish former footballer and BBC television football pundit. He played as a central defender for Partick Thistle, for the successful Liverpool team of the late 1970s and 1980s, and for the Scotl ...
's testimonial. Liverpool's
arch rival Manchester United played their first home game of the
1971–72 season at Anfield as they were banned from playing their first two home league matches at
Old Trafford after an incident of hooliganism. United beat
Arsenal 3–1.
In November 2019, Anfield hosted a
Women's Super League
The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features t ...
fixture for the first time, with the 6th matchday of the
2019–20 season featuring a derby between
Liverpool FC Women and local rivals
Everton FC Women.
![London Broncos 2019 Magic Weekend](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/London_Broncos_2019_Magic_Weekend.jpg)
The stadium has hosted five
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
matches: the 1989
Charity Shield between
Widnes
Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464.
Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form th ...
and
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...
; the
1991 World Club Challenge between Wigan, winners of the
RFL Championship, and
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrit ...
, winners of the Australian
NSWRL Premiership
The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sou ...
, with an attendance of 20,152;
a 1997
St. Helens Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
home game against
Castleford Tigers, with an attendance of 12,329;
and the
2016 Rugby League Four Nations Final, in front of 40,042 people.
Anfield was chosen as the venue for the
2019 Magic Weekend after two test matches were played there in 2016 and 2018. After previously choosing games that were local derbies or competitive games, in 2019 the fixtures were determined by the previous seasons league position. Robert Elstone, Super League Chief Executive, said “On behalf of the Super League clubs, we’re delighted to be taking the Dacia Magic Weekend to one of the most famous stadiums in the world.
Anfield has been the venue for many other events. During the mid-twenties, Anfield was the finishing line for the city
marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
. Liverpool held an annual race which started from St George's plateau in the city centre and finished with a lap of Anfield.
Boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...
matches were regularly held at Anfield during the inter-war years, including a number of British boxing championships; on 12 June 1934
Nel Tarleton
Nelson "Nel" Tarleton (14 February 1906Odd, Gilbert E. (ed.) (1946) ''Boxing News Annual 1946'', War Facts Press, p. 53 – 12 January 1956) was an English featherweight boxer from Liverpool, England. He was British featherweight champio ...
beat
Freddie Miller for the
World Featherweight title. Professional tennis was played at Anfield on boards on the pitch.
US Open champion,
Bill Tilden
William Tatem Tilden II (February 10, 1893 – June 5, 1953), nicknamed "Big Bill", was an American tennis player. Tilden was the world No. 1 amateur for six consecutive years, from 1920 to 1925, and was ranked as the world No. 1 professional b ...
, and
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
champion,
Fred Perry
Frederick John Perry (18 May 1909 – 2 February 1995) was a British tennis and table tennis player and former world No. 1 from England who won 10 Majors including eight Grand Slam tournaments and two Pro Slams single titles, as well ...
, entertained the crowds in an exhibition match. In 1958, an exhibition basketball match featuring the
Harlem Globetrotters was held at the ground.
Non sporting events
Aside from sporting uses, Anfield has been a venue for musicians of different genres as well as evangelical preachers. One week in July 1984, the American
evangelist
Evangelist may refer to:
Religion
* Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels
* Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ
* Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...
Billy Graham
William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...
preached at Anfield, attracting crowds of over 30,000 each night.
Anfield was featured in Liverpool's 2008
European Capital of Culture celebrations: 36,000 people attended a concert on 1 June 2008, featuring
The Zutons
The Zutons are an English indie rock band, formed in 2001 in Liverpool. The band are currently composed of singer, songwriter and guitarist Dave McCabe, drummer Sean Payne and saxophonist Abi Harding.
They released their debut album, '' Who K ...
,
Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 2000 as Parva, releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation the band h ...
, and
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
. Live concerts made a return to Anfield in the Summer of 2019, with
Take That
Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...
,
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...
and
Pink
Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
performing. Take That lead singer
Gary Barlow
Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the British pop group Take That.
Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, havi ...
, a Liverpool fan, brought out a guest vocalist,
Gerry Marsden
Gerard Marsden MBE (24 September 1942 – 3 January 2021) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and television personality, best known for being leader of the Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers. He was the younger brother of fellow b ...
, and they sang the club's anthem “
You'll Never Walk Alone
"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ''Carousel''. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and enco ...
”. Artists who played at the stadium in Summer 2022 include
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
,
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
, and
The Eagles
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s ...
.
Records
![Anfield attendance from 1946 to 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Anfield_attendance_from_1946_to_2007.png)
The highest attendance recorded at Anfield is 61,905, for Liverpool's match against
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
in the FA Cup fifth round, on 2 February 1952.
The lowest attendance recorded at Anfield was 1,000 for a match against
Loughborough
Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second large ...
on 7 December 1895. The highest average attendance of 53,112 was set for the
2016–17 season.
Liverpool did not lose a league match at Anfield during the
1893–94,
1970–71,
1976–77,
1978–79,
1979–80,
1987–88,
2008–09,
2017–18,
2018–19,
2019–20 and
2021–22 seasons. Liverpool's longest unbeaten streak at home extended from January 1978 to January 1981, a period encompassing 85 games, in which Liverpool scored 212 goals and conceded 35.
The club's longest unbeaten home run in the league is 68 games, which occurred from April 2017 to January 2021. Liverpool's worst losing streak at Anfield is six games in
2020–2021 with games played
behind closed doors during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The most consecutive league wins at Anfield is 24, this is the
longest run in English top-flight history. It was accomplished across the 2018–19 and
2019–20 seasons.
Transport
The stadium is about from
Lime Street Station
Liverpool Lime Street is a terminus railway station and the main station serving the city centre of Liverpool. Opened in August 1836, it is the oldest still-operating grand terminus mainline station in the world. A branch of the West Coast ...
, which lies on a branch of the
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
from
London Euston
Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city rail ...
.
Kirkdale Station, about from the stadium, is the nearest station to Anfield. Fans travelling by train for matches may book direct to Anfield or Goodison Park, changing to the Peoplesbus Soccerbus service at
Sandhills Station on the
Merseyrail
Merseyrail is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, commuter rail network serving the Liverpool City Region and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire. Merseyrail operates 66 railway stations across two lines – the Northern Line (Merseyrail ...
Northern Line
The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, tw ...
. The stadium has no parking facilities for supporters, and the streets around the ground allow parking only for residents with permits, although there are a small number of passes that can be allocated to over-65s. There are proposals under consideration for reinstating passenger traffic on the
Bootle Branch, which would cut the distance from the nearest railway station to about .
References
Bibliography
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External links
Anfielda
LiverpoolFC.com
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Liverpool F.C.
Football venues in Liverpool
Premier League venues
English Football League venues
Rugby league stadiums in England
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UEFA Euro 1996 stadiums
Tourist attractions in Liverpool
Everton F.C.
Fenway Sports Group
Sports venues completed in 1884
1884 establishments in England