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Fresh Doubts Over Newanfield Stadium
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By Jeremy Wilson
Last Updated: 10:03am BST 02/05/2008 Daily Telegraph
Concern was growing on Merseyside last night over whether Liverpool's co-owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, will ever find the £300 million for the club's proposed new stadium.
With the season now effectively finished for Liverpool following Wednesday's exit from the Champions League, attention has turned to issues off the pitch and the battle for the club's future.
A fresh worry in Liverpool is that any delay on the new stadium in Stanley Park could threaten European funding for the wider economic regeneration of the Anfield area of the city. The new 71,000-seat stadium is scheduled to open for the 2011-12 season, but there is scepticism about that timetable.
City sources indicate that Hicks is no nearer securing the finance needed to actually begin the construction phase of the project. However, the next phase of the planning process is due to be approved next week and Hicks remains very confident in his ability to push the project through.
But among the fans, there is still a feeling frustration and uncertainty. "We have seen no evidence to suggest that they have any means to commence work on the stadium and every day that goes by puts the costs up," said Neil Atkinson, a spokesman for the Spirit of Shankly group.
"There is also concern about the wider impact of this inertia on the regeneration of the area. The entire local community is waiting to see what the club are going to do. Anfield needs regeneration and, until the stadium questions are answered, private investors are not going to make definite decisions.
"It's playing havoc with the area and it needs to be resolved. They are abdicating their responsibility as custodians of the area. If they can't build the stadium, they are wasting everyone's time, including their own. It's a vacuum of uncertainty."
Around £60 million of the £350 million refinancing deal that Hicks and Gillett negotiated earlier this year with the Royal Bank of Scotland and America's fourth largest bank, Wachovia, was made available for the stadium.
A further £45 million was set aside as working capital for, among other things, player acquisitions.
The remaining £245 million was split into two chunks: £60 million of club debt inherited at the time of last year's takeover and £185 million of acquisition debt, borrowed by Hicks and Gillett to complete their original buyout. It was unclear whether the interest would be taken on by the club
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