1 year ago
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Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
The club will be reaching out to fans who bought tickets for the uncompleted upper tier over the coming week.
Liverpool had planned to open the expanded Anfield Road end following the September international break, but contractor Buckingham Group filing for administration meant that date was pushed back indefinitely.
Initial hopes had been that the stand might be ready following the October international break in time for Everton’s visit to Anfield, but the reopening has now been officially ruled out through at least the end of 2023.
This marks a significant setback for the club and fans, with those who had bought tickets—including foreign supporters who may also have booked flights and hotels—now set to miss out through at least December.
“What’s become clear in the last few days is there’s just more work to be done,” said Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan. “Unfortunately the upper tier is not ready to partially or fully open until the end of the calendar year.
“We are really disappointed to have to deliver this news and sorry for all those supporters impacted. You can see the games coming up on the fixture list, not just the derby but through it to the end of the calendar year.
“It means ultimately we won’t be in a position to be able to provide seats for those fans who purchased tickets in the upper tier. Our team has identified those supporters and they will be reaching out directly next week.”
Hogan went on to ask that impacted fans not reach out to the club and instead to wait to be contacted, offering assurances that they would not lose credit but giving no insight into what alternatives might be offered.
He also said that ruling out opening the upper tier of the redeveloped Anfield Road end through the end of 2023 does not mean that it will be ready to go on January 1st, 2024, with a longer delay seemingly possible.
“It’s just not possible at this point to put a timeline in place,” Hogan added. “And, frankly, we don’t want to set the wrong expectation. We are continuing to work to come up with a realistic project completion programme.
“And we are committed to keeping supporters up to date as much as we possibly can. I recognise how incredibly frustrating and disappointing this news is, so as soon as we have additional updates we will share that.”
