Liverpool owner John W Henry is adamant that expanding Anfield will not bankrupt the club and insists that they have at least £150million to spend on the refurbishment of the club’s historical stadium.
The original plan was to build a whole new stadium all together on Stanley Park, but after realising that that would take a lot of money, instead, they have decided to just expand on their current stadium so that it can compete with the likes of Old Trafford and Emirates Stadium.
Tom Werner, the Liverpool chairman, held a meeting with the Liverpool council after his side beat Manchester United on Sunday and Werner insists that progress is being made.
‘We are making good progress,’ said Henry. ‘We have a lot of different groups working very well together and that’s the key to a big project like this happening, when everybody is on the same page and pretty much everyone is on the same page.
‘They (Hicks and Gillett) were talking about going out and borrowing an enormous amount of money for an enormous facility. That’s not what we are doing here.
‘I think we were clear at one point that what made financial sense was going in this direction. This is the direction that makes financial sense for the club in the long term.
‘The obstacles are being overcome.’
The chairman then reiterated that the club can afford to make the plans and that the plans will not affect the club’s transfer budget.
‘No because it will pay for itself. It’s actually a positive. It’s one of the reasons we are doing it.
‘Once this (redevelopment project) happens, that won’t be the problem. Again, we just need certainty with regard to these properties. The number of properties is being reduced. The City Council is doing everything they can, and that’s all we can ask.
‘We’ve always said you have to have certainty with regards to the properties because of the height of the stands and all the issues regarding that. That has been the biggest issue. We need certainty on that.’
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt
