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'Stanley Park Stadium' is a proposed title of the planned football stadium to be built in Stanley Park, Liverpool, England. The stadium was given planning permission in February 2003. The stadium has a planned all-seated capacity of about 60,000. The plans were initiated by Liverpool F.C. to replace its stadium at Anfield and were first announced in May 2002. Liverpool unveil new stadium At that time the proposed capacity was 55,000 but it was later revised to 61,000 (1,000 seats given for segregation). The club had first announced its intention of building a new stadium 18 months earlier. The original idea had been for a 70,000 seat stadium which would cost around £200million and be ready for the 2004-05 season.
There were attempts by the local council to instigate a groundshare of the stadium with local rivals Everton, but this move was rejected. If the ground was to be shared, the move would not have gone down well with either set of fans. The name Stanley Park Stadium was proposed for the purpose of facilitating a groundshare but Liverpool will name the ground Anfield.
The plans, originally approved in February 2005, needed to go before Liverpool City Council for a second time some 12 months later to ensure that the proposed stadium complied with new planning regulations. It was reported on 11 April 2006 that the plans had passed without amendment.
On 8th September 2006 Liverpool got the green light from the city council for development on the new 61,000 seater stadium, and were granted a 999 year lease for the site.
On 25th July 2007 Liverpool Football Club unveiled new redesigns for their stadium in Stanley Park, coinciding with the submission of the official planning application to Liverpool City Council.
The stadium is scheduled to open in 2010. The 60,000 seat stadium has been designed to allow for future expansion which could see the capacity increased to the high seventies dependent on improvements to the local transport infrastructure.
The central importance of the Kop has also been recognised with a hugely increased capacity to 18,000 seats in a single tier stand. The new ground will also incorporate dedicated facilities for the Anfield Sport and Community Centre and Liverpool Hope University and external facilities will include tennis courts and new multi-use games area.
The asymmetrical design, with a huge 18,000 seat single-tier Kop at its heart, has been developed as part of the overall regeneration of Stanley Park. The West side is concave in form effectively embracing the park and providing changing facilities for those young amateur players and their parents who use the existing pitches which will be retained within the park.
The North and East facades take a convex form respectively overlooking Priory Road and Utting Avenue across gardens which will be developed in the tradition of Stanley Park. The South facade will be of completely different form, taking on a more formal appearance appropriate to its civic function at the northern edge to the new Anfield Plaza development which will replace the current ground.
The stadium will have a stone work base on the North, West and East sides with mainly glass facades above. The South side will be clad in metal and overlook the Plaza. One feature will see the South East and South West corners of the stadium visually open, providing views from the park deep into the stadium.
The stadium represents an investment of around £300 million by the Club in North Liverpool.

Contents

Liverpool FC Takeover Impact

Notes

External links

Liverpool FC Takeover Impact

With the takeover of the club by George N. Gillett Jr. and Tom Hicks on February 6 2007 the building of the new stadium looks likely to begin "very soon"^[1] with an estimated investment of £215m for the first phase. New football stadia are commonly named after a commercial sponsor - such as Arsenal's Emirates Stadium - and Liverpool's new stadium looks set to follow this course. When Gillett was asked if he would consider selling the naming rights of the stadium he answered:"If the naming rights are worth one great player a year in transfer spending, we will certainly look at that as a serious option."^[2]
Development of the site is due to begin in May 2007 with construction beginning in July of the same year. The stadium is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010.^[3]
On March 14 2007, a possibility of the capacity being increased to 80,000 was reported on, which would have made the stadium larger in capacity than the current largest FA stadium outside Wembley, that of Manchester United's Old Trafford. ^[4] This was denied by chief executive Rick Parry, however he did hint that more seating will be considered in the review of the stadium, just not to the scale described in the press. Talks to expand to 75,000 or 80,000 seats, pushing opening to at the earliest the 2010 season, and conducting a new traffic impact study were rumored. News broke on April 2 2007, that Liverpool had permission from the council to start work, and work is now due to begin in May with a completion date of 2009. The stadium design was revealed on Wednesday 25th July 2007.

Notes

1. Liverpool accept takeover offer
2. US pair agree Liverpool takeover
3. Reds to begin stadium work in May
4. Radio City 96.7 Stadium plans ripped up

External links

★ Club's official website page on the proposed stadium

★ Images and Description

★ BBC report stadium approval in September 2006