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Why Liverpool have made Premier League request over first fixture of 2023/24 season
Liverpool are not expected to be playing their opening game of the 2023/24 season at home due to ongoing work on the Anfield Road expansion project.
The Reds last month submitted a request to the Premier League to make this possible and it is anticipated this demand will have been approved when the full list of fixtures are confirmed today at 9am.
Liverpool recently took a major step in their expansion project, with the old 282-tonne roof lifted off the Anfield Road stand, with work now focusing on joining together both the new and existing stadium structures.
This £80million project was helped by the mid-season break for the World Cup at the back end of last year and the target of Anfield being ready to open its doors again will be the end of August.
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Liverpool played their first three games of the 1987/88 season away from home following the collapse of a sewer in the Kop, while they also began the 2016/17 campaign with fixtures at Arsenal, Burnley, Burton Albion and Tottenham before the Main Stand was opened to fans on September 10 for a 4-1 win over then-champions Leicester. As the ECHO first reported back in May, a similar request has now been put forward to the governing body.
“We get asked each year and we’ve put in a request for our first game of the season to be away from home,” vice president of Stadium Operations Paul Cuttill told the ECHO last month. “We haven’t had that confirmed yet by the Premier League, I must stress. However, if it is confirmed, we’re looking at around August 19 for our first home game of the new season to be played here with the Anfield Road stand open, brand new.
“I’m delighted and excited to be able to get to this point and to take you all around today is an achievement because it’s been a challenge. We’re on time and we’re on budget. It’s been an incredibly challenging time to get to this point and we’ve got a four-week window after our last home game when we remove the roof and that is going to be the next big milestone. We need to hit that to kick on and make sure we’re on track to be ready in time for the start of the 23/24 season.
“Keeping the stadium open while working on it, in terms of the lower Anfield Road stadium and not losing any capacity, making sure that the experience is still the same for fans when they come to a game. And that’s a handover process from ourselves, Liverpool City Council, Buckingham Group (contractors), it’s all been really good and it means we’ve been able to manage this project right up until the final point.
“It’s been integral to making sure we stay on track, so that has been a challenge. The weather as well, which is probably more Buckingham’s issue than ours from a club perspective – as it does get incredibly windy at Anfield. The likes of the high lifts that they have had to do has been challenging, but we’ve come through it now.
“The amount of games played here last season was a real challenge, it was. It was finding those windows when there was an international break or wherever and we had to make sure the team got as much done as possible during that time, so it has been incredibly difficult as a challenge. I’m really proud of everyone as a team because yes, it has been difficult.
“Next phase is to clear all the Liverpool stuff and then the pitch gets covered. We’ve done some tests down at the AXA Centre with the cranes to check that [the weight] it needs to bring the stuff on to the pitch it can take.
“We are bringing two very large cranes on to the site and I am making it sound simple but they will cut the roof off, cut it up on the floor and take it away. They will then demolish the upper tier. And then there’s a four-week window for that to take place in. There’s a lot of planning and work gone into this, from Buckingham in particular, to make sure this is delivered on time. So that is the next big milestone for this project.”
It looks unlikely the Reds will host a pre-season friendly ahead of the new campaign but the club will need to undertake a test event before it is officially opened to supporters in August. Liverpool have no plans to host any summer concerts this year but are hopeful of re-opening their doors for major events in the close-season of 2024.
The new stand, which will take Anfield’s overall capacity to 61000, will create around 500 additional jobs and the club believe the further expansion of their iconic stadium represents “the best of both worlds” in terms of remaining at their current base while also increasing the number of supporters who are able to attend on match days.
“It’s the best of both worlds, absolutely,” adds Mr Cuttill, who was speaking after the ECHO had been given a tour of the development project. “I’ve been here 20 years and the fans are what makes this club sometimes.
“The atmosphere in this stadium is just incredible and I can’t wait to see that stand open and see those extra 7000 fans in and how much more atmosphere they bring to this stadium because I think it will be incredible. And for it to remain in the same place I think it is really, really special.
“There’s a massive amount of pride from all sorts of different people. Within my own team, safety, kitchens, whatever, they have all been part of this process and there are a lot of people who are incredibly involved behind the scenes who are going to come to life and bring this stadium to life for the 23/24 season.”
With the £80m development coming seven years after completion of the £115m Main Stand project, it takes the overall spending on the stadium to close to £200m over the last decade and Mr Cuttill has refused to rule out further capacity increases further down the line, although there are no plans currently in the pipeline.
He said: “For me personally, I am not involved or aware of any further conversations in terms of expanding Anfield. I don’t think anyone can say never but what I would say is we’re not aware of what that would look like. At the moment, I think we’re comfortable going up to 61000 and getting that open and seeing what Anfield looks like after that. But at this moment in time there’s no intention of doing it further.”
*A version of this story was originally published last month.
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