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Liverpool FC stadium work could start within weeks.
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LIVERPOOL FC will be in a position to start work on its new £350m stadium next month, if it is approved by the city’s planning committee.
Co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett’s controversial £350m refinancing package signed earlier this year included £60m to get work started on the 60,000-seater ground on Stanley Park.
The Liverpool Daily Post understands the £60m would allow the club to start land and preparatory works for the stadium, and see the scheme through to the end of 2008.
A new financing package would then be needed to finish the spectacular stadium, now on its third design.
The redrawn plans by Dallas-based architects HKS are cheaper than their current incarnation.
The main savings are under-stood to be reducing the depth of the dig into the park from 14 metres to eight metres.
The sides of the ground have been tucked in, and it could now only handle a maximum of 73,000 seats instead of 76,000.
Next month, the city’s planning committee will debate the crucial changes, which also include:
The underground car park beneath the stadium halved.
A three-storey car park under tennis courts and a games area in Stanley Park, shielded from Priory Road by a “green wall”.
The width, length and height reduced by several metres.
The roof opening is smaller and designed differently to keep the crowd dry and help pitch grow.
Plans for public viewing areas, a “skywalk” and roof terrace restaurant in the new Kop stand have been scrapped.
The redesign does not affect the restoration of the remainder of Stanley Park, which is under way.
A council report states: “The overall form of the stadium, with the Kop as the main generator of the building form will add to the city skyline, and create a positive landmark and a focus for further investment.
“The changes introduced in March do little to dilute the architectural quality.”
Planning officers recommend approval if Liverpool FC agreed to meet certain conditions.
The club has been asked to ensure spectators leaving their cars in the stadium’s 970 parking spaces arrive an hour before kick-off and wait an hour after the final whistle to leave.
The club must also pay for a yearly review of the residents-only parking zone around Anfield for five years after the ground opens – and fund any expansion of it.
Several groups have objected, including Priory Area Residents Association (Para), Friends of Stanley Park and Stanley Park Preservation Society.
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