Anfield: The home of Liverpool Football Club and the spiritual or second home of many the club’s supporters. Since fierce and local rivals Everton moved out in 1891, the supporters within the stadium have rarely been disappointed with dazzling performances under various illustrious managers yielding just as illustrious trophies and what can only be described as magical European evenings.
However despite all the history encapsulated within the ground, under the previous ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett, there were serious plans to move just down the road and erect a new 60,000 seat stadium named Stanley Park.
Stanley Park was scheduled to open in 2006, however due to a lack of funds the plans never actually came to fruition. For all Tom Hicks and George Gillett’s faults, maybe this was actually a blessing in disguise that their poor money management skills would allow Liverpool Football Club to remain where they belong.
These plans have since been scrapped (rightfully in my opinion) by new American owners – Fenway Sports Group (FSG). Without question, Anfield is one of the most atmospheric grounds on the globe with the unrivaled passion of those within and the famous ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ irreplacable.
It would seemingly be a criminal offence to even consider leaving and compromising that passion and flair for the added revenue that a bigger stadium would inevitably bring.
But – like it or not – the game has evolved. The £80m transfer fee commanded for Manchester United to part with their crown jewel – Cristiano Ronaldo and Samuel Eto’os £330,000 a week wages illustrates just how inflated prices are in the sport, making it a playground for those who have a substantial amount more disposable income than the rest. Therefore any club disregarding the importance of generating the maximum revenue and profits are putting themselves at a serious disadvantage to compete at the highest level.
Liverpool’s fall from the pinnacle of English football is one that is well documented and is also something that scars the red half of Merseyside, especially seeing bitter rivals Manchester United overtake the amount of league titles amassed by the Anfield outfit.
You can put this down to various factors, but an overriding and contributing factor is revenue generated, thus being able to pay higher wages and attract the calibre of players needed to compete for titles on a consistent basis.
Since Arsenal’s move to The Emirates Stadium from Highbury in 2006, Liverpool have been losing out on substantial amounts of money generated from Anfield in comparison to their direct rivals.
The table below illustrates just how far behind Liverpool are in terms of generating match-day revenue in comparison to other Premier League sides. (Please note that all figures are relative and are just an average as a 100% accurate figure would be impossible to obtain due to various factors, however these are fairly accurate and give an extremely good indication)
These statistics make for interesting but also damning reading for Liverpool supporters. It is good to see that Liverpool have the lowest average ticket price, although some will still argue that £43.50 is still an extortionate fee to pay to go and watch a football match. However, when you compare it to the average Arsenal ticket price, it is evident to see that it’s not so bad after all.
But, dig deeper and it is a terrifying thought that over the course of a Premier League season, excluding any extra home cup competitions, that Arsenal gain almost double that of Liverpool.
However, what will make for even worse reading isn’t in the table. It is that since 2006, on average, Arsenal have obtained a staggering extra £220m, Manchester United – £193.5m, Manchester City – £88.9m and despite having a smaller stadium, Chelsea have obtained £37.7m more than Liverpool Football Club.
If that is over a timescale of just over 6 years, it is an unimaginable thought to think how much match-day revenue has been lost by Liverpool and how badly it has affected the ability to attract the more prestigious players on higher wages, thus the ability to compete on the field where the game of football is actually played – not in the boardroom where figures are analysed.
FSG know that this is a major issue that needs to be rectified as soon as possible in order to continue the climb back to the top of English football. So, much like they did with their purchase of the American Baseball outfit – Boston Red Sox and their stadium redevelopment, the plan is to replicate that with Liverpool and Anfield.
The proposed redevelopment of Anfield would make it a 60,000 seat stadium, thus increasing matchday revenue from £1,980,207, to £2,610,000 – an increase of £629,723 which would ultimately lead to an overall Premier League increase from £37,623,933 to £49,590,000 – providing ticket prices stayed the same.
Although still behind against the likes of the two Manchester clubs and the extortionate prices of London club Arsenal, it betters that of Chelsea and makes Liverpool much more competitive and reduces the deficit hugely and would be a massively beneficial step to closing the (at the time of writing) 29 point gap to leaders Manchester United.
It is crucial, however, that these plans start coming to fruition sooner rather than later in order to reduce the off-field deficit substantially that in turn would only reduce the on-field gap too.
Atmosphere shouldn’t be comprised, that’s why staying at Anfield was a necessity, not an option. But, similarly it is not an option to see rivals gain an avoidable financial advantage that could stop Brendan Rodgers getting in the required players to build a more competitive squad.
Anfield’s redevelopment is both unavoidable and essential if FSG are serious about helping Liverpool Football Club retain its heritage and history, whilst being able to be self-sustainable and compete with the vastly inflated modern day prices.
John Henry & co, over to you…
