Liverpool FC New Ground

New Anfield is back on track after £10m grant

A MAJOR breakthrough in Liverpool FC's plans for a new stadium is revealed today.

Government officials have privately agreed to pump around £10m into the regeneration of the area around the club's planned £150m ground at Stanley Park, the ECHO has learned.

It means the Reds' stadium project is still on track after months of uncertainty.

A spokeswoman for the Northwest Development Agency, which holds the purse strings, today said no formal decision had been made.

The news of the cash boost comes a day after the ECHO revealed that property giant Peel Holdings has offered to build Everton FC a new stadium at Switch Island. more

Will they do more than Football with it and hold massive events? They should do and should of with old anfield!

can we actually afford to build it and at the same time carry on putting money into the team like we have been? the longer it's left the more it costs to build it. thats what worries me. it's probably the only chance I've got of coming off the waiting list for a season ticket and actually gettin one if they build it, but will it come at a price? at the price of success on the pitch? we seem to be struggling to prove we actually do have the money :confused: :neutral:

Its all a bit of a gamble.

I think the transfer budget has already been spent - hence the freebie for Fowler. Think if Benetiz had some cash lying about, he would have been in for Defoe.

Whether that transfer budget is empty due to money being put aside for the ground or not, I don't know?!

But with Uniteds stadium holding near-on 60k, and no doubt plans to increase, Arsenal moving this season, and Chelsea looking at other developments, I guess we need to move in order to compete and generate the money through the turnstyles.

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Originally Posted by ScouseCol

can we actually afford to build it and at the same time carry on putting money into the team like we have been? the longer it's left the more it costs to build it. thats what worries me. it's probably the only chance I've got of coming off the waiting list for a season ticket and actually gettin one if they build it, but will it come at a price? at the price of success on the pitch? we seem to be struggling to prove we actually do have the money :confused: :neutral:

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It could have other investors to keep it going and hold other events other than football like Wembley does like having music concerts.

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Originally Posted by Max

It could have other investors to keep it going and hold other events other than football like Wembley does like having music concerts.

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i think thats the only way it would happen. I still don't think stanley park is the ideal site for it for a lot of obvious reasons thou. tradition is all well and good but you've also got to look at practicality too. I wouldn't say stanley park is the most practical site to build a new 55 to 65k football stadium.

as for us buying fowler jock m8, the transfer budget hasn't been spent. we do have money to spend right now, it's the in future i mean. getting fowler on a free was nothin to do with being on a budget. it was just the right move for both the club and fowler at the time. simple as.

I just wish that our north west teams could build a bloody stadium like every other team seems to have done so quickly :rolleyes: without all the faffin' about

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Originally Posted by kev

I just wish that our north west teams could build a bloody stadium like every other team seems to have done so quickly :rolleyes: without all the faffin' about

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definately :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by kev

I just wish that our north west teams could build a bloody stadium like every other team seems to have done so quickly :rolleyes: without all the faffin' about

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None of them would be as big as Old Trafford though.

LIVERPOOL Football Club is falling behind other leading Premiership clubs because of delays over building its new stadium at Stanley Park, directors were warned last night. more

:rolleyes:

Plans for Liverpool FC's new stadium have been re-approved by city councillors without any alterations to the original scheme.

Plans for the stadium in Stanley Park, next to its current Anfield ground, were first given the go-ahead by Liverpool City Council in 2005.

The club had to resubmit plans for the 60,000-seater ground to make sure they conformed to new planning laws.

The club is looking for investors to help fund the £160m venture.

Shareholders were told at the club's recent AGM that it could be four years before the stadium was completed.

source

:037:

ANOTHER hurdle to Liverpool FC's stadium plans was today being removed by council chiefs.

They have started looking for a developer to restore parts of Stanley Park, alongside the planned 60,000-seater ground.

The news will please European and government officials, who had demanded the council and the club show their commitment to the £160m scheme before handing over millions of pounds.

But they still want the Reds to confirm they have the money to pay for the stadium, or the cash may be lost. more

EUROPEAN millions are still available for Liverpool FC's new stadium dream despite fears funding could be pulled. more

Liverpool FC has been given two months to prove it has the funding to build a new football stadium.

Part of the plan for the £190m stadium in Stanley Park involves regenerating the area around its current Anfield Road ground with European Union cash.

The area could get £9m of Objective One Funding - money earmarked by the EU to revive depressed areas.

Officials who distribute the funds said the club had to provide evidence the stadium funding was in place.

Financial statement

A spokesman for the Objective One programme monitoring committee said it had received written assurances from the club and Liverpool City Council about the funding.

But he added that the committee wanted to see detailed financial statements and accounts before authorising the project.

A two month appraisal is to take place with a sub-committee deciding by 28 September if the club has given adequate proof of its financial package for the new ground.

But the committee is also looking at alternative uses for the money in case the club fails to satisfy its requirements.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/...t_quote_rb.gifIt is time for the club to put up or shut up http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/...d_quote_rb.gifCoun Flo Clucas

Coun Flo Clucas, the city's head of ecnonomic development warned the club "the clock is ticking."

She added: "The club has had 18 months to bring forward its proposals and it is are now competing with other projects which have already been appraised.

"Put simply, it is time for the club to put up or shut up."

The European cash would pay for environmental and infrastructure improvements in the Anfield area and would not go towards the cost of the stadium.

Nobody at the club was available for comment.

Threat to LFC stadium project
Jul 28 2006
By Sam Lister Daily Post Staff

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LIVERPOOL FC'S plans to build a new stadium were dealt a massive blow last night after officials told them they were no longer front-runners for a £9m grant.

The club failed to come up with a "cast-iron" assurance that they had private financial backing, despite being given 18 months to secure a deal.

Committee members in charge of handing out the European cash fear the scheme has now become so risky they stripped the club of preferred bidder status.

It means the grant is no longer ring-fenced for the ambitious Stanley Park plans, and LFC will now have to compete with dozens of other Merseyside regeneration schemes for the money.

More...

LIVERPOOL Football Club should not be allowed to build its new £180m stadium on Stanley Park unless the rest of the Anfield Regeneration programme goes ahead, councillors were told yesterday. more

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Originally Posted by Kev

LIVERPOOL Football Club should not be allowed to build its new £180m stadium on Stanley Park unless the rest of the Anfield Regeneration programme goes ahead, councillors were told yesterday.

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It should be allowed to be built on the park full stop. Both club's should be forced out to suitable locations in non-residential areas.

Both club's are an embrassment to the city. For 10 years EFC have been talking about a move - they haven't even got a site yet. For the past 5 years LFC have been on about one. They even have a site and a design - no stadium. Arsenal come in the last minute and build a beauty.

The council should be firm and say no deal in Anfield or Walton, get out and offer them sites - again. They offered a part of Garston Docks and Speke to both club's.

The club's propogate the idea of an indecisive argumentative city that does nothing, even when they throw public money at them.

CITY politicians are set to lease a slice of historic Stanley Park, paving the way for work to start on a new stadium for Liverpool FC early in 2007. more

Its a crying shame that the prefered site for the new stadia, is a Public park.. :(

Lets hope that with the full restoration of the rest of the park that is planned alongside the ground, the Anfield area will benefit as a whole through community facilities etc...

By all means attempt to regenerate the area.. but don't use public open space to achieve it .. :(

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Originally Posted by FKoE

By all means attempt to regenerate the area.. but don't use public open space to achieve it .. :(

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Of course, hopefully once the park has been fully restored it will be more accessable and attractive to the folk its meant for not the antisocial minority.

I'm all for the intent of doing good for the Anfield community.. but there were brownfield sites available tobuild the ground such as down Prescot rd and the Docks such as Kings dock that were ignored in favour of a public open space..

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Originally Posted by FKoE

I'm all for the intent of doing good for the Anfield community.. but there were brownfield sites available tobuild the ground such as down Prescot rd and the Docks such as Kings dock that were ignored in favour of a public open space..

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Should build it at Vauxhall. Clear all those Chavs out and do something good there. :)

Yeah!... see everyone noddin' and agreeing with you ;)


Bloody Churchills eh?

Liverpool have received the go-ahead from the city council to build a new 60,000 all-seater stadium.

Council leaders approved a 999-year lease on Friday for a piece of land in the city's Stanley Park, just 300 yards away from their Anfield home.

"It's all systems go. All we need now is the club to confirm the funding," said council leader Warren Bradley.

Liverpool have until the end of September to convince the council it can come up with £180m for the project.

If financing is approved, building work could begin early next year with the first match pencilled in for August 2009.

Bradley added: "If Liverpool have the funding in place, they can start on the site from January."

The overall cost of the first phase of the project will be £215m.

It includes the new stadium which incorporates a centre with facilities for education, sport and community activities, along with a fully restored Stanley Park. source.....

I remember seeing a post regarding the ashes spread at Anfield, and what would be happening to them. Tho. I can't find it now. So I'll post this here...Just to add a few word to the ashes question. I would think that when the management allowed this practice, they entered into a tacit agreement with the families of the people whose ashes were placed on the field, that they undertake to be gardians of the remains. This would indeed be a legal undertaking, whether agreed to or not. So the management would be legaly bound to re-deposit the remains to a safe place, even if identities could not be confirmed.
In this case I feel that if enough pressure was brought to bear, (as in a class action ) That maybe the top 12 ins. of the present field would be transfered to the new field and mixed in there. Just a thought.

Good thinking Bobbymac.

Ta luv. As of this evening I believe the Echo will be looking into this matter.

Benitez: Stadium plan vital to LFC
Sep 9 2006
By Sam Lister Daily Post Staff

LIVERPOOL FC manager Rafael Benitez yesterday told how plans for a new stadium were vital for the club as senior councillors issued a warning that vital funding could be lost in just seven days.

The city council's executive board yesterday agreed to rent out one-third of Stanley Park so the club can build a 60,000-seater ground.

But the club must prove it has the £180m it needs to build the stadium within a week, or lose vital European cash without which the scheme would almost certainly collapse.

Yesterday, Benitez said: "It is very important that we have this new stadium to have more room for our fans. It will help us provide very important extra funds for our future, and it will help us to compete with clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.

"We have fantastic support at Liverpool and the Kop is a very special place, but our capacity is just 45,000. It would be even better for everyone if we had 60,000 fans in the ground."

More...

Some people view a new home for the club as the star attraction in what will be a £200m regeneration strategy for north Liverpool.

They argue that never again in this lifetime will such an opportunity present itself to transform an area dominated by an ageing football ground, surrounded by hundreds of terraced homes.

The new ground, costing £180m, will spearhead a new-look Anfield, with a futuristic Plaza on the site of the existing ground, coupled with a hotel, home improvements and a safer environment.

Critics argue that one of Britain's great Victorian Parks will be ruined for ever by the arrival of a huge modern stadium and all the ancillaries that go with it - car parks, transport problems, congestion.

They also argue that politicians have vowed never to sell off parkland areas, the so-called 'Crown Jewels'.

The counter argument is that the land earmarked for the stadium is already a concrete area used for match day parking.

The city council's executive board has agreed to the project, though it now faces scrutiny at a council Select Committee later this week.

The critical issue is whether the New Anfield Vision can be delivered without the inclusion of Liverpool FC.

The football ground is, both historically and currently, a critical part of the community.

The next few weeks will determine whether the Anfield dream will be a reality.

larryneild@dailypost.co.uk

Once-in-a-lifetime chance for community

YES SAYS Cllr Flo Clucas, executive member for economic development and a member of the Objective 1 committee

PART of Stanley Park has been leased to Liverpool FC so that the regeneration plans for Anfield and Breckfield can go ahead.

Unless there is a new stadium the public funding from Objective 1 and NWDA would be lost to this part of North Liverpool which, as one of the most deprived areas in the country, desperately needs this injection of funding.

If the stadium does not go ahead, the potential for all that employment, new business and injection of confidence in Anfield and Breckfield is likely to go forever.

And it is important to to point out that there will be no net loss of green space at all. Much of what is going to be built on is currently a tarmaced car park.

We consulted 19,000 people on this scheme and a huge majority wanted the club to stay here. It was an enormous consultation.

The scheme enables us to do what many of the people in the local area want us to do.

We talk to the people most directly affected by these changes and it is worth noting that of those that made formal objections, some were from Middlesex, Formby and Crosby. Of course, these people have a right to object but I am convinced that the overwhelming majority of local people see this scheme as not just providing a new home for Liverpool FC but as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of regenerating their community.

The majority of people who live in the area recognise how vital it is to ensuring young people have a future.

It will transform Anfield and Breckfield beyond recognition by creating extensive new jobs.

There will be a hotel complex, the park will have its third lake restored, the Gladstone Conservatory will be restored.

It will create jobs in heritage, culture and business and make a real difference to people's lives.

If you look at the area there are a number of things that strike you. There is significant expansion but there is an inability of local people to access quality employment.

There is the new North Liverpool Academy, but we need to be able to give those young people very real opportunities that will allow them to stay in the local area.

This is not a decision that we would take lightly. But we must remember that the park is not wholly going out of council control.

The lease is to the joint venture company that will be 50% city council and 50% LFC.

For five years this scheme has been developed with the Anfield Breckfield Partnership Forum, which has focused on gaining the best regeneration plan for the area.

Without the stadium there will be no public sector cash to carry out those plans, which will provide a much-need boost for the area.

The right plan, but in the wrong place

NO SAYS Steve Radford, Leader of Liberal Group, Liverpool Council

EVERYONE in the Save Stanley Park campaign recognises the benefit of a new world-class international stadium for Liverpool Football Club.

We want the proposal to be commercially viable, but it must be in the right location with excellent motorway and rail connections. To be commercially viable, thousands more football fans will need to be able to reach the new stadium without becoming trapped in heavy congestion.

The current plans will add 15,000 extra cars to the most congested and densely populated part of Liverpool. Congested traffic will add to dangerous levels of air pollution.

We believe the city council has failed miserably to develop alternative, and preferable, sites at Speke, or along the East Lancs corridor.

The promised park and ride/park and walk" scheme is a delusion - already one of the sites, (Craven Park) has become a housing estate.

The proponents claim the people of Anfield have voted for this scheme.

The council voted to hold a referendum in October 2000. Having done so, senior officers and councillors, terrified at the prospect, set about a phoney consultation whereby residents' opinions were claimed to have been reported, only after the reading of a wish list of promises, set to bias the outcome.

Residents never saw the answers submitted to the council on their behalf, they were not allowed to view the form or sign it proving it to be a correct record.

The council say they consulted 19,000 homes: not true. They only did 4,102 in Kirkdale, Walton, Breckfield, Tuebrook, Kensington, and Anfield. All the other areas have their own local park, and as such will not be affected by building on Stanley Park.

We challenge the council to put the issue to a local referendum.

During the public inquiry against the demolitions the council told the inspector housing renewal was NOT linked to LFC building on Stanley Park, yet every week Lib Dem press releases claim the regeneration of Anfield IS dependent on LFC's proposals.

The present stadium is 27 metres high, the new stadium will be 78.9 metres high, an increase of 225%.

A yes vote will give the council and large financial interests the green light to encroach on local parks.

Walton Hall, Croxteth, Newsham, Sefton, Calderstones and Princes Park, and Otterspool will be under threat.

We are asking you to vote NO, to save all our parks and ensure a new international stadium is built somewhere else with excellent transport links.

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Originally Posted by Kev

A yes vote will give the council and large financial interests the green light to encroach on local parks.

Walton Hall, Croxteth, Newsham, Sefton, Calderstones and Princes Park, and Otterspool will be under threat.

We are asking you to vote NO, to save all our parks and ensure a new international stadium is built somewhere else with excellent transport links.

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Yes, No it should be. This is the thin end of the wedge. Similar with West Waterloo Dock. Let one historic dock be filled in and planning proposals by the week will come in for the rest of them. Same with parks.

The coucil offered EFC a site in Speke, which was originally offered to LFC. There are countless suitable sites in Liverpool for a large football stadium - Stanley Park is not one of them.

Interesting that there is gonna be a hotel. imagine going on holiday to Anfield!

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Originally Posted by Urban

Interesting that there is gonna be a hotel. imagine going on holiday to Anfield!

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It will be either the first 25 day a year hotel or the fastest closure in history of any hotel.

Let's face it. If all the new developments promised by LCC and LFC actually come to fruition, then this is a scheme no right-thinking person can oppose. However, LFC do not posses the best recorded of taking an interest in the quality of the community surrounding thier ground. LFC have over a number of years continually purchased houses around the area with big ideas of ground expansion, and then proceeded to allow them to remain derelict for year upon year, bringing down other house prices in the area, and encouraging any decent people to get the hell out as quickly as possible. As environment shapes the people it produces, Anfield has now descended to scum central. Are LFC truly interested in their surrounding community? Or is it simply hyperbole in order to pacify local residents, secure additional funding for the stadium, and get taxpayers to foot the bill for transport links and corporate hospitality facilities around the ground? I suspect the latter.

Could be, I would hope that LFC would have to deliver on their promises though with local community regeneration etc.... Once this happens then it could be a catylist for further regeneration, fingers crossed.

Welcome and thanks for your support :PDT_Aliboronz_24:

Welcome to the forum ThinkingScouser. :)

As an Anfield resident I can say that you are quite correct in your views - and yes, all the decent people are fleeing away from the deterioration of this area.

LIVERPOOL FC today denied it is facing a 48-hour deadline to decide the future of the club's stadium plans. more

Liverpool close in on new stadium

The club aims to start building the stadium later this year
Liverpool's plans to build a new 60,000-capacity all-seater stadium have moved a step closer after the club secured crucial European funding.
The European Union Objective One grant of £9m will be spent on regenerating the area around the Stanley Park site.

Liverpool were given the money after guaranteeing that the £180m funding for the entire project is in place.

They can now claim £5m from Liverpool City Council and £8.9m from the Northwest Regional Development Agency.

The city council approved a 999-year lease on the stadium site - which is 300 yards away from Anfield - on 8 September.

Planning permission for the scheme came with the proviso that investment would be made in the surrounding area, including the park.

The European money will not be spent on the new stadium but on schemes such as the creation of a shop-lined plaza on the site of their current Anfield home.

Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry said: "It's another significant step forward in our plans for the building of a new stadium, which we have always seen as a catalyst for the regeneration of the whole area."

Councillor Flo Clucas, chairman of the Objective One project selection sub-committee, added: "This is a major step forward for the people of Anfield.

"It will underpin substantial investment by other partners, whose commitment will help transform the neighbourhood."

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