An artist’s rendering of ‘Carlsberg Anfield’. (Image: PA.)
A failed new stadium project would have seen leave their iconic Anfield for a proposed new ground with a similar name, though with a Carlsberg twist.
In February 2007, the Reds were bought by American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, who stated that their priority was to build a new stadium on Merseyside.
However, years prior, submitted plans for a new £70million ground in Stanley Park, less than 300 yards away from their home, which was scheduled to be ready for the start of the 2005/06 season.
However, construction did not get off the ground due to a lack of funds. Hicks and Gillett attempted to resolve this issue by selling the name to Carlsberg, after costs rose due to the decision to replace Manchester-based architects AFL with Dallas firm HKS.
The new stadium, able to seat 60,000 fans with the possibility of expanding to over 73,000, was now estimated to cost in the region of £400m after planning permission was granted.
Carlsberg were eyed to foot a portion of the bill, with the alcoholic beverage company stating their interest in securing a naming rights deal for ‘Carlsberg Anfield’.
They were ’s shirt sponsor at the time and had the longest-running deal with a club at the time.
An artist’s rendering of the proposed new stadium in Stanley Park. (Image: PA.)
However, no official deal was signed and as the American owners ushered in new financial troubles at Anfield, progress was indefinitely delayed.
In October 2010 the consortium, now known as Fenway Sports Group, took over and announced that they would examine all options to increase the club’s capacity.
That included redeveloping Anfield and finding a new home, though less than two years later managing director Ian Ayre described a move elsewhere as “not a viable project” despite previous efforts.
“There was much talk and conjecture around the debt the club was with under previous ownership,” he said.
“There has been over £200m of that debt paid down and that’s very important for the club moving forward. People will probably focus on the headline which is there has been a £49m loss in these accounts.
“A large majority of that is related to writing off a stadium facility where most of the cost was focused around a design which many fans will remember as being the bigger, 70,000-seat proposition which never got built.
“That….is not a viable project for the club although there was a lot of cost associated with it. It’s important for us to move on and move it off the accounts.”
Later in 2012, the club cancelled any plans to move to the Stanley Park site and announced that Anfield’s capacity would increase from 45,276 to approximately 60,000, costing in the region of £150m.
Several more changes to the stadium have taken place since, including the expansion of Main Stand and Anfield Road End, taking the capacity to 61,276.