Liverpool Chief Executive Speaks Out on ‘Incredibly Disappointing’ Anfield Road End Delays
Liverpool Football Club’s Chief Executive, Billy Hogan, has spoken out about the “incredibly disappointing” delays to the full opening of the Anfield Road end. The work to complete the top tier of the stand ceased last week when it was announced that contractor Buckingham Group had filed a notice to appoint administrators.
As a result, the Reds’ opening home game against Bournemouth was played with that section of the stadium entirely closed, resulting in an attendance under 50,000. Hogan provided an update on the situation, saying: “Effectively major work stopped on the site on Thursday morning after the announcement so clearly that impacts all of our planning.”
He went on to explain that there is a lot of uncertainty around the timeline for completion of the project and that they don’t want to set any false expectations. He also said that if Buckingham does enter into administration then they’ll need to address any delays that may arise from completing the new stand as a result.
The next game at Anfield will be against Aston Villa on September 3rd, and Hogan has revealed that the game will be played with a similar attendance to that seen against Bournemouth due to the delays resulting from the uncertainty over Buckingham’s future. He said: “Based on the current situation, we will run the Villa game exactly the same as we did against Bournemouth. The capacity will be around the same, so about 50,000.”
He went on to explain that without the second tier on Anfield Road, this does have an impact on the overall capacity, so only the lower tier will be open. He also said that they are looking to make the impact minimal and that they will still be able to accommodate all season ticket holders and those with 13+ credits as they did for the Bournemouth game.
The delays to the full opening of the Anfield Road end are incredibly disappointing for Liverpool Football Club and their fans. However, Chief Executive Billy Hogan has provided an update on the situation and revealed that the next game at Anfield will be played with a similar attendance to that seen against Bournemouth. The club is working hard to make sure that the impact of these delays is minimal and that all season ticket holders and those with 13+ credits will still be able to attend.