DAILY STAR
Liverpool have announced plans to partially open the upper tier of their new Anfield Road stand when the face Manchester United next month.
The £80million upgrade, which will increase Anfield’s capacity by 7,000 to 61,000, has been beset by problems ever since the main contractor, Buckingham Group, went belly up. But it now looks as if half of the tier will be open to fans for the United game on December 17, pending safety approval.
The rest of the stand will not be fully operational until some time in 2024, though it’s understood the upper tier could remain open for games against West Ham, Arsenal and Newcastle later in the month, should everything go as planned on December 17.
The opening is subject to an internal emergency conditions test managed in conjunction with Liverpool City Council, along with a public test event, which is set to take place the week before the United match. Around 3,000 people will be asked to test the upper tier before it can be officially opened and a safety certificate granted.
Once the entire stand is opened, Anfield will become the fourth-biggest ground in the Premier League, overtaking the Manchester City’s 55,000-capacity Etihad Stadium and Arsenal’s 60,000-capacity Emirates Stadium
