Gillett wants 'expandable' new stadium
Apr 1 2007
Liverpool co-owner George Gillett wants room to expand when the Reds go ahead with their plans to build a new stadium.
Former chairman David Moores and the board had gained planning permission to build a new stadium in nearby Stanley Park, but Gillett and fellow co-owner Tom Hicks are looking at ways the stadium can be improved within the accepted proposal - most crucially that there is an option to increase capacity should they want to in the future.
Gillett said: "To be competitive we must be patient because any decision we make today will have to last for 50 or more years. And so with this in mind we want to be very cautious. What I am asking for is that everyone shows patience and gives us a little time. We have to be very mindful and respectful of the planning process."
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He added: "There is a plan in place for which approval has already been granted and we have to operate to the extent we can within that process and approval. Decisions about modifications will be taken very carefully. What we want to do is build a stadium that will comply with the seating capacity approval but be expandable. As the fans demand more seats we want to be able to give them to them."
The original proposal was for a 60,000-seater stadium, but Gillett clearly has in mind a desire to eventually have a ground rivalling Old Trafford in size.
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