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SEPTEMBER 29
Dare we believe
we can start
By Nick Coligan - Liverpool Echo
Work should start on Liverpool FC's new stadium as soon as next
spring.
Teams of workmen are expected to move on to Stanley Park within the next
six months, with New Anfield ready to throw open its doors at the start
of the 2009 season.
Club officials can now start finalising timescales after Liverpool
council was given £9m of European cash for the long-awaited project.
The grant will be topped up with £15.6m of club and taxpayers' money to
pay for regeneration of the Anfield community.
* Anfield Plaza, a shop-lined concourse leading up to the newstadium on
the site of the current ground
* Restoration of Stanley Park to its Victorian splendour, including
re-laying football pitches and the returnof the park'slost third lake
* Converting derelict Gladstone Conservatory into a smaller version of
the Sefton Park Palm House, hosting catering and conference events.
Regeneration work must be finished by the end of 2008 or the European
money will have to be returned to Brussels, putting pressure on
Liverpool to get started.
Cllr Warren Bradley, leader of Liverpool council, said: "It is great
news for the people of Anfield that this grant was agreed. At long last,
after 20 years of decline, we are sure we can deliver a better life for
people there.
"Improvements around the stadium must be completed by the end of 2008
and it would be a fantastic legacy of Capital of Culture year if a real
future for the area is in place.
"I would now like to see the club come out and tell people with real
confidence how they are going to pay for it. This issue has gone on for
three years and they let it go right down to the wire."
Approval of the European grant was crucial because the council would not
let Liverpool build a new home without im proving the area around it.
Equally, the regeneration scheme cannot go ahead without the stadium at
its heart.
That is why the Reds' board had to give guarantees to the European
Objective One committee that the club can afford the £180m ground before
the money was released.
No taxpayers' money will be used for the stadium.
Cllr Flo Clucas, who chairs the decisionmaking panel, said that pledge
finally arrivedafter months of speculation about Liverpool's finances.
"The committee was assured that if we approve the Stanley Park
restoration, the stadium will go ahead.
"It is a matter for the club to speak about the funding package."
Cllr Paul Brant, opposition spokesman on regeneration, said: "I am
surprised the committee has not expressly confirmed why it is satisfied
with Liverpool's assurances."
Despite yesterday's decision, opponents of New Anfield are still hopeful
the scheme might be moved.
Liberal councillor Steve Radford said: "This is a short-sighted
decision. A worldclass stadium should be built somewhere with
world-class transport links."
Local resident Harry Moyles, of Douglas Road, Anfield, said: "A lot of
people were against a newstadium at the startand some are still
concerned about the extra traffic brought by 15,000 more supporters. But
regeneration is certainly needed."
How will you pay?
Fans were today calling on Liverpool to reveal how they plan to pay
for
New Anfield.
Richard Pedder, from Liverpool FC supporters' club, said: "This £9m is
good news, but we do not know which direction the club is going. Has a
sponsor been found or is a takeover imminent?
"I hoped all that would be announced together at this meeting.
"The ground move has the majority of fans' support, but after five years
of talks, we want to know what is going on."
But Liverpool would not be drawn on how they plan to pay for their share
of the project.
In a short statement, chief executive Rick Parry said: "It is another
significant step forward in our plans for the building of a new stadium,
which we have always seen as a catalyst for the regeneration of the
whole area."
SEPTEMBER 28
Plans for
new stadium move closer
By Emma Gunby - PA
Plans for Liverpool's new stadium moved a step closer on Thursday
after £9million of European funding was confirmed.
The Objective One money will be used to regenerate community facilities
in the Anfield area and is an integral part of the scheme.
The decision to award the Reds the money was made at a meeting at the
Cunard building in Liverpool after the club guaranteed £160 million
funding for the entire project was in place.
The European money will not be spent on the 60,000-seater stadium but
the regeneration of the surrounding area.
It includes schemes such as the restoration of nearby Stanley Park,
where the stadium will be built, and the creation of a shop-lined plaza
on the site of the current ground.
Councillor Flo Clucas, chairman of the Objective One project selection
sub-committee, said: "This is a major step forward for the people of
Anfield.
"It will underpin substantial investment by other partners whose
commitment will help transform the neighbourhood.''
Reds chief executive Rick Parry welcomed the decision of the committee.
He said: "It's another significant step forward in our plans for the
building of a new stadium, which we have always seen as a catalyst for
the regeneration of the whole area.''
SEPTEMBER 11
Cash
crunch looms on New Anfield plan
Daily Post Comment
After years of uncertainty over the fate of Liverpool FC's Stanley
Park super-stadium plan, we are approaching the moment when the club is
going to have to put the money on the table or walk away.
Deadlines have come and gone regarding this project before, but
Liverpool councillor Flo Clucas, who sits on the European Objective 1
funding committee, made it very clear yesterday that the club's board
must demon strate by the end of next week that it has the £180m cost of
building the stadium in place.
She says that this will give officials time to make a decision on
whether to hand over the grants required for the regeneration of the
surrounding community, a sum totalling over £15m of public money.
Quite simply, without the regeneration projects that are an intrinsic
part of the overall plan, there can be no Stanley Park stadium. The
ball, to borrow an analogy from another sport, is now firmly in the
court of Liverpool FC.
The club's vision of a 60,000-seat, state-of-the-art stadium, with all
the new revenues it would draw in, was a mouthwatering prospect when it
was first dangled before Liverpool's fans.
It also offered the chance of the most significant regeneration project
the Anfield area has seen in many years.
However, raising the money for such a massively expensive project is no
mean feat, even for an organisation of the impressive scale and
resources of Liverpool FC. The problem gets worse the longer it takes to
raise the money, as the projected building costs go up.
The club engaged enthusiastically in a consultation process with the
people of the area before unveiling its final plans, but, since then,
information from within Anfield's corridors of power has been at a
premium. In the next few days, they will have to break their silence or
wave this project goodbye.
It would be a crushing disappointment for the club and its supporters if
the stadium did not now go ahead.
This stadium would be a fantastic new asset, not just for the club but
for our city region.
We must hope that it does go ahead. Either way, it seems we will know
its fate very soon.
SEPTEMBER 8
Liverpool get go-ahead on stadium
BBC Sport Online
Liverpool have received the go-ahead from the city council to build a
new 60,000 all-seater stadium.
Council leaders approved a 999-year lease on Friday for a piece of land
in the city's Stanley Park, just 300 yards away from their Anfield home.
"It's all systems go. All we need now is the club to confirm the
funding," said council leader Warren Bradley.
Liverpool have until the end of September to convince the council it can
come up with £180m for the project.
If financing is approved, building work could begin early next year with
the first match pencilled in for August 2009.
Bradley added: "If Liverpool have the funding in place, they can start
on the site from January."
The overall cost of the first phase of the project will be £215m.
It includes the new stadium which incorporates a centre with facilities
for education, sport and community activities, along with a fully
restored Stanley Park.
SEPTEMBER 4
Football
stadium plans developed
BBC Sport Online
Plans for a new stadium for Liverpool Football Club and the
redevelopment of the neighbouring area, are taking a major step forward.
The city council is being asked to approve measures such as the granting
of a lease, restoration work and the setting up of a joint venture
company.
The plans will still depend on the club securing its part of the funding
for the project.
The overall cost of the first phase of the project will be £215m.
It includes the new stadium which incorporates a centre with facilities
for education, sport and community activities, along with a fully
restored Stanley Park.
Council leader Warren Bradley said: "Liverpool Football Club is one of
the best-known and most successful in the world.
"Yet it stands in one of the poorest areas, not only in the city, but in
the country.
"What we are looking to do is not just provide a new home for the
football club fitting for their status as one of the world's best, but
use their success to spark a dramatic revival of the Anfield and
Breckfield areas."
JULY 31
No
regeneration? Then no stadium
By Larry Neild - City Editor
Liverpool Football Club should not be allowed to build its new £180m
stadium on Stanley Park unless the rest of the Anfield Regeneration
programme goes ahead, councillors were told yesterday.
The city council's executive board was told by Executive member Cllr Flo
Clucas that, if a public funding package was lost, the entire programme
to breathe new life into the Anfield area would also collapse.
Cllr Paul Clein told the meeting that he would oppose any bid by the
club to build a go-it-alone stadium, irrespective of the public sector
works.
The club has until the first two weeks of September to come up with a
solution to draw down £18m-worth of funding, including £9m from European
Objective 1 funding, which would trigger a further £9.1m from the
Northwest Development Agency.
Last night, club chief executive Rick Parry insisted it was still on
target to fund the proposed stadium, despite this week losing its "front
runner" status for the £9m Objective 1 cash.
Liverpool FC already has planning permission to build its new stadium in
the area.
But the scheme is linked to a widescale New Anfield Regeneration plan
that will see new and improved homes and leisure facilities for
thousands living in the shadow of the club.
Cllr Clucas told the executive board that, if the stadium does not
proceed, the regeneration package also falls.
She said talks were planned with the club as well as government
officials about the scheme.
"I believe the club has until the first week in September, or the early
part of the second week, to come up with funding," she said, adding that
any further would mean a schedule for European and regional aid would
not be spent to a laid-down timetable.
The stadium itself does not depend on public aid, and will be funded
entirely by the club.
The public money is earmarked for infrastructure work around the
stadium. Cllr Clein said: "There is a possibility of the stadium going
ahead without any public funding. But if the club wants a new stadium it
must be part of a full package.
"There is no way we will allow a stadium to be built without all the
benefits for the community. If Liverpool FC think they can go ahead
without the public projects, they can think again."
Cllr Clucas said the club was signed up to a full regeneration package.
Yesterday, Mr Parry said the decision by Objective 1 managers was not a
setback for the club. He said the club would provide assurances being
sought by a September deadline.
The decision means the club now has to compete with other projects for
financial aid from Brussels.
The money is conditional on it being spent by 2008, otherwise it will be
lost. Last night, a spokesman for Liverpool FC said: "We understand the
deadlines that lie ahead."
JULY 28
Liverpool's uphill struggle to find
cash is not getting any easier
By Bill Gleeson - Daily Post
Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry has played his hand close to his
chest about funding for the new stadium.
What we do know is that the club initially said the cost of the project
at Stanley Park was £80m when it was first proposed six years ago. Most
of that money was to be raised in the form of loans from banks.
Unfortunately, Liverpool’s efforts in securing planning permission and
the public sector support it needs have taken time. While the club has
been talking to officialdom, the price of steel and construction labour
costs have risen sharply. The price tag for the new ground is now put at
£190m.
Every time the price has risen, Liverpool has had to go back to the
banks and ask them for more.
Nor can rising prices have made negotiations with construction firms
easier. As the Wembley experience demonstrates, the rapidly rising costs
can prove damaging to the profitability of such projects for the
contractor and its insurer.
The obvious implication of yesterday’s decision by Objective 1’s
Programme Monitoring Committee to remove Liverpool’s preferential status
to receive grant money is that Liverpool has so far been unsuccessful in
raising all of the cash it needs to build its stadium.
This also includes failing to raise money from the naming rights to the
new venue, as Arsenal managed to do with its Emirates stadium when it
raised £100m from a Middle East airline.
The problem is that if Liverpool should fail to make the next deadline
set by the Objective 1 committee and the cash is withdrawn altogether,
the chances are the Northwest Development Agency will also withdraw the
£12m it has offered. That would leave Mr Parry with even more money to
raise.
The situation isn’t helped by the fact that club majority shareholder
David Moores has been in talks with potential investors who might buy
his 51% stake. Uncertainty about who may end up owning the club in the
near future will deter banks from lending the money as they would prefer
to know who they were dealing with.
Yet the struggle is taking place at a time when football has never had
it so good. The recent TV rights deal with BSkyB and Irish group Setanta
should boost the club’s revenues by more than £10m a year for three
years. Success in the Premier League and a couple of good runs in the
Champions League should go a long way towards closing the funding gap.
Otherwise one alternative would be to share the costs with Everton while
the other would be to sell Steven Gerrard before he gets much older.
JULY 28
Key events in plans to build new stadium
Daily Post
June, 2000: Plans for 70,000-seater New Anfield at Stanley Park are
revealed.
January, 2001: Speculation mounts that the club has lined up Speke as a
possible substitute.
May, 2002: Consultants GVA Grimley say building a new stadium is better
than rebuilding Anfield.
October, 2002: Survey of 19,000 residents supports the new ground within
Stanley Park.
October, 2003: The club submits a planning application for an £80m,
60,000-seater stadium.
July, 2004: Planning permission is given.
August, 2004: John Prescott agrees not to call in the plan.
January, 2005: Talks over Liverpool and Everton sharing a new stadium,
an idea which had been running for several years, end in failure.
February, 2005: Liverpool waits for decision on £23m funding from
Northwest Development Agency.
March, 2005: The NWDA says it still wants clubs to ground-share and the
cost of the stadium is estimated to be rising at £750,000 a month, now
standing at £120m.
June, 2005: The NWDA revealed it will not put money into the stadium but
will consider funding the regeneration work around the stadium in
Anfield. Around £9m is later earmarked for work around the ground, if
funding for the ground can be shown.
April, 2006: Liverpool's plans for a new 60,000-seater stadium on
Stanley Park are re-confirmed by the city's planning committee.
July, 2006: Liverpool FC chief executive Rick Parry insists the club's
new stadium plans will not collapse.
JULY 27
Reds get
stadium funds deadline
BBC Sport Online
Liverpool FC has been given two months to prove it has the funding to
build a new football stadium.
Part of the plan for the £190m stadium in Stanley Park involves
regenerating the area around its current Anfield Road ground with
European Union cash.
The area could get £9m of Objective One Funding - money earmarked by the
EU to revive depressed areas.
Officials who distribute the funds said the club had to provide evidence
the stadium funding was in place.
Financial statement
A spokesman for the Objective One programme monitoring committee said it
had received written assurances from the club and Liverpool City Council
about the funding.
But he added that the committee wanted to see detailed financial
statements and accounts before authorising the project.
A two month appraisal is to take place with a sub-committee deciding by
28 September if the club has given adequate proof of its financial
package for the new ground.
But the committee is also looking at alternative uses for the money in
case the club fails to satisfy its requirements.
Coun Flo Clucas, the city's head of ecnonomic development warned the
club "the clock is ticking."
She added: "The club has had 18 months to bring forward its proposals
and it is are now competing with other projects which have already been
appraised.
"Put simply, it is time for the club to put up or shut up."
The European cash would pay for environmental and infrastructure
improvements in the Anfield area and would not go towards the cost of
the stadium.
Nobody at the club was available for comment.
JULY 27
Cash is in
place for new Anfield
By Chris Bascombe - Liverpool Echo
Liverpool FC have assured European moneymen that cash to pay for
their new stadium is in place.
Club officials will not attend a key meeting today when the future of
£9m of European Objective One funding earmarked for the Stanley Park
scheme could be decided.
But the Reds have already told the European Objective One committee that
they have the resources to press ahead with the £190m, 60,000-seater
stadium.
The European money will not be used to pay for the ground, but for the
regeneration of the deprived Anfield and Breckfield communities nearby.
The Objective One committee had set a deadline of today for the club to
confirm it has the privatemoney to pay forits share of the project.
In theory, it could now decide to take the money away from Liverpool if
it is not happy with what the club is saying.
But it is far more likely that they will instead accept that progress is
being made and extend the deadline to give the Reds more time to firm up
their proposals.
Liverpool are hopeful the funding will remain in place, although club
insiders insist if the decision goes against the club, it will not spell
the end of their stadium plans.
Club officials acknowledge the loss of the European grant would be a
significant blow, but would not derail the process of leaving the
current site.
Chief executive Rick Parry recently spoke of his confidence Liverpool
will secure the multi-million pound investment they need to build the
complex on Stanley Park.
The club has been in talks with several interested parties, with at
least one thought to be at an advanced stage.
The overall project needs more than £18m from Europe and the government
to pay for the regeneration of Stanley Park and the surrounding area.
Land occupied by the current ground will be turned into Anfield Plaza, a
new public square lined with homes, shops and leisure facilities.
Two weeks ago, senior councillors voiced their fears that this part of
the scheme could fail if Liverpool are unable to come up with their
share of the stadium cash.
Cllr Flo Clucas, executive member for economic development, said: "Even
though European funding will not be used for the stadium itself, the
stadium is seen as a vital part of the regeneration project.
"If the stadium money is not forthcoming, regeneration will not take
place in the way currently envisaged.
"If this particular package does not come together, it will not be the
public sector's fault, it will be LFC that failed to bring cash to the
table."
JULY 27
£9m question: Is
stadium deal still on track?
By Sam Lister - Daily Post Staff
Liverpool FC could be given one last chance today to find the money
it needs to build a new stadium before the scheme collapses.
The club faces having £9m worth of European funding withdrawn this
afternoon if it has failed to make any progress in securing the rest of
the finance it needs.
Officials want assurances that the project to build a new home at
Stanley Park is on track - or they will hand over the cash to other
schemes in the region.
But the Daily Post understands the Objective 1 committee could be
inclined to give the club a reprieve by extending its deadline to give
it more time to come up with the money.
They will consider three options today: rejecting it outright, allowing
a brief deadline extension, or agreeing to start plans to give it the
cash.
A spokesman for the organisation said: "The committee could decide that
given the money has to be spent by the a certain deadline they would
rather spend the money on other projects.
"They could also decide that progress is being made and more time is
needed, so they could defer the decision.
"But this is not an opportunity for £9m of ring-fenced funding to be
approved.
"If they give the go-ahead it will trigger the start of the process,
which will then test the application against the benefits of local
economy before funding is granted.
"That decision would be made by the end of autumn."
If the cash was pulled it would almost certainly spell the end of the
Stanley Park plans in the near future.
Steven Broomhead, chief executive of the North West Development Agency,
told the Daily Post in June that the club's ability to finance its new
stadium remained unclear.
Liverpool FC must raise all of the money for the construction of the
stadium from the private sector and have been in lengthy negotiations
with banks and other potential private sector investors about financing
arrangements.
The £9m being discussed today can only be used to fund vital works
around the stadium to help regenerate the area.
Today's meeting was called because that cash will be lost if it is not
allocated by December this year.
A further £9.2m has been applied for from the NWDA, although that cash
is unlikely to be withdrawn in the near future.
The cost of the 60,000-seat stadium now stands at £190m.
No-one from the club was available for comment last night.
