Anfield

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	Capacity		45,362
	Opened		1884
	Owner		Liverpool FC
	Pitch Dimensions		111 yards (101 m) x 74 yards (68 m)

Anfield is a football ground in the district of Anfield, in Liverpool, England. The stadium has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since the club’s formation in 1892 and was the home of Everton F.C. until 1892, when they left following a rent dispute. It is a UEFA 4-star rated stadium, and has hosted numerous international matches at senior level, including England fixtures, the ground was also used during Euro 96 to host matches. There is a memorial to the victims of the Hillsborough disaster outside the ground, which features an eternal flame.

The stadium currently comprises four stands; Spion Kop, Main Stand, Centenery Stand and Anfield Road. The record attendance of 61,905 was set in an FA Cup tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1952 before the ground was converted to an all-seater stadium. Each of its four stands has since been converted to all-seater following the recommendations of the Taylor Report. A new stadium in Stanley Park, which will replace Anfield and hold 25,000 more spectators, is scheduled to open in 2011.

Facilities

The pitch is surrounded by four all-seater stands, the Anfield Road end, the Centenary Stand, the Kop and the Main Stand. All stands are covered, the Anfield Road end and Centenary Stand are multi-tiered, whilst the Kop and Main Stand are single-tiered. Entry is gained by RFID smart card rather than the traditional manned turnstile. This system, used in all 80 turnstiles around Anfield, was introduced in 2005.

The Centenary stand was originally named the Kemlyn Road stand before the addition of a second tier in 1992. After the expansion was complete, the stand was renamed the Centenary stand to mark the club’s hundredth anniversary. The capacity of the stand is 11,762, with 4,600 spaces on the upper tier and 6,814 on the lower tier, with 348 spaces also available in the executive boxes within the stand. The Anfield Road stand is used to house the away fans during match-day, the stand was once a simple single-tier stand, with multi-coloured seating seats. In 1998 a second tier was added to the stand, increasing the capacity to 9,074, consisting of 2,654 spaces on the upper tier, 6,391 on the lower tier and 29 disabled spaces.

The Kop was originally built in 1906 as an uncovered terrace capable of holding 30,000 spectators, a large roof was added in 1928. However following the Hillsborough disaster and the subsequent Taylor Report, a new all-seater Kop was constructed with a capacity of 12,409, with nine disabled spaces. The Main stand was erected in 1895, and remained largely the same until 1973 when the stand was redeveloped with the addition of a new roof. The capacity of the stand is 12,277-consisting of 9,597 main stand seats, 2,409 available in the paddock, 177 in the directors box, 54 for the press box and 40 disabled spaces.

There are 32 spaces available to accommodate wheelchair users, 22 spaces are available for general sale, eight spaces are allocated to the away supporters, and another two spaces are kept unused for emergency circumstances. There are 36 spaces available for the visually impaired, the seats are situated in the paddock area of the Main stand, with space for one personal assistant. A headset with full commentary is also provided.

The Hillsborough memorial is situated alongside the Shankly gates, and is always decorated with flowers and tributes to the 96 people who died at Hillsborough. At the centre of the memorial is an eternal flame, signifying that the 96 will never be forgotten. The stadium features tributes to two of the club’s most successful managers; the Paisley Gates, in tribute of Bob Paisley, who guided Liverpool to three European Cups and six League Championships in the 1970s and 80s, and Shankly Gates, in tribute of Bill Shankly, Paisley’s predecessor between 1959 and 1974. There is another tribute to Shankly; a statue of Bill Shankly, created from bronze, is located at the visitor’s centre in front of the Kop.

Future

Original plans to replace Anfield were initiated by Liverpool in May 2002. At that time the proposed capacity was 55,000, but it was later revised to 61,000, with 1,000 seats given for segregation. The club had first announced its intention of building a new stadium 18 months earlier, with the original plan as a 70,000 seat stadium which would cost around £200 million and would be ready for the 2004-05 season. There were several attempts by Liverpool City Council to instigate a groundshare of the stadium with local rivals Everton from 2003 to 2007, but this move was finally rejected as neither club was in favour of the move.

Liverpool were granted planning permission to build a new stadium on July 30, 2004, just 300 yards (270 m) away from Anfield at Stanley Park, and on September 8, 2006 Liverpool City Council agreed to grant Liverpool F.C. a 999-year lease of land on the proposed site. Following the takeover of the club on February 6, 2007 by George Gillett and Tom Hicks the proposed stadium was re-designed. In November 2007 the new design was approved by the council and construction is due to start in spring 2008. The new stadium is being built by HKS, Inc. and is scheduled to open in August 2011, with a capacity of 71,000. Once the new stadium is built Anfield will be knocked down and become the centrepiece for the Anfield Plaza development, which would include a hotel, restaurants and offices.

Other uses

Anfield has hosted numerous international matches, and was one of the venues used during Euro 96; the ground hosted four matches, which included three group games and a quarter-final. The first international match to be hosted at Anfield was between England and Ireland, in 1889, with England winning 6-1. England have also played Wales on three occasions, in 1905, 1922 and 1931, with England winning all three matches. The last international to be hosted at Anfield was England’s 2-1 victory over Uruguay on March 1, 2006. Anfield has also hosted five FA Cup semi-finals, with the last being in 1929.

Anfield has been the venue for many other events, and during the inter-war years boxing matches were regularly held there. A number of British championships were contested and on June 12, 1934, Nelson Tarleton fought for the World Featherweight title against Freddie Miller. Professional tennis was played at Anfield on boards on the pitch, with the US Open champion, Bill Tilden and Wimbledon champion, Fred Perry entertaining the crowds. During the mid-twenties, Anfield was the finishing line for the city marathon. Liverpool also held an annual race starting from St George’s plateau, in the centre of the city and finishing with a lap of Anfield. In July 1984, the American evangelist Billy Graham preached at Anfield for a week, attracting crowds of over 30,000 a night.

(source .. wikipedia) reproduced under GFDL

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Liverpool FC official website
Anfield wikipedia entry
LFChistory fansite
‘This is Anfield’ fansite
KOP Talk fansite
Liverpool Rivals fansite
KOP Blog fansite
Hillsborough Justice Campaign website
The Football Association
The Premier League Website
Bet with Paddy Power

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