Liverpool: Anfield Road redevelopment work halted as opening date uncertain due to Buckingham group issues
- Published
Liverpool are redeveloping the Anfield Road stand, which was last revamped in 1998
Liverpool chief executive Billy Hogan says redevelopment work on the club's Anfield Road stand is on hold and its re-opening date is "uncertain".
Construction began in 2021 to add 7,000 seats and increase capacity to 61,000.
The main construction contractor, Buckingham Group, halted work last week after it filed a notice to appoint administrators.
"We're in a bit of a holding pattern right now based on the news we got," Hogan told Liverpool's website.
"That needs to reach its conclusion before we can truly start to take the next steps. It's important that we don't want to set any false expectations."
The revamp had been due to be finalised before the start of the 2023/24 season, but Liverpool had previously announced there would be a phased opening of the £80million upgrade due to delays in the work schedule.
Only the lower tier of the Anfield Road stand was occupied by fans for Liverpool's first home match of the season against Bournemouth, with the ground's capacity reduced to 50,000.
Hogan acknowledged the delays were "incredibly disappointing and frustrating" for supporters but remains optimistic work could still be completed by October.
"Obviously we talked about having the stand fully open in October - clearly we have discussed the uncertainly that this announcement creates," Hogan said.
"We are still aiming for October, but what we're working through now is to put a plan in place.
"Timing is incredibly fluid right now, there's a lot of uncertainty around where we are and in time that will become more clear.
"If Buckingham does enter into administration then we'll need to address any delays that may arise from completing the new stand as a result of that."
Anfield's main stand redevelopment was completed in 2016 at a cost of around £60m.
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