LIVERPOOL FC has been given until the end of the month to make its mind up over whether to move to a new stadium or stay at Anfield.
The ECHO can reveal Liverpool council has given the club the deadline in the hope of ending months of uncertainty over owner John W Henry’s plans for the club’s stadium requirements.
But the club may be moving towards finally confirming Mr Henry’s preferred option of remaining at Anfield.
The council’s assistant director of regeneration Mark Kitts has revealed the local authority’s own plans to regenerate the local area would enable the redevelopment of Anfield stadium to go ahead.
The city council has already announced plans to demolish homes near to Anfield in Lothair Road, which it insists are in no way connected to any decision that the club may or may not take.
Mr Kitts said: "We have been working with the club very closely and they have said this will accommodate their needs if they stay at Anfield and refurbish the current stadium."
The main issue standing in the way of the Reds expanding Anfield has been the "right to light" of nearby residents.
Mr Kitts has said that the demolitions would solve those issues.
Today Liverpool council was keen to stress that its plans to regenerate Anfield are not linked to those of the club.
A spokesman said: "No decision has yet been made by Liverpool Football Club about their stadium plans. The city council continues to work closely with the club, but the club will determine which option is best for them.
"The city council plans to demolish and refurbish properties in the surrounding streets to Anfield stadium are about driving forward much needed housing renewal in the area.
"They are not indicative of any decision Liverpool Football Club may or may not make in relation to their stadium."
The council controls the lease of Stanley Park – where the club still has the option to build a new ground – and would also be needed to drive forward any Compulsory Purchase Orders the club would require if they prefer redevelopment.
Although keen to leave the club to manage its own affairs, the council believes it has already shown patience and is eager to see progress. Last week club managing director Ian Ayre said the Reds were getting close to making a decision but were continuing to explore both options.
The fact there has been no solution some 20 months after Fenway Sports Group’s takeover is a source of frustration for supporters.
Publication of the club’s accounts last month highlighted that the failure to relocate to a new stadium during the previous regime of Tom Hicks and George Gillett had left Liverpool with a bill for £49.6m.
Hicks and Gillett had vowed to have ‘a spade in the ground within 60 days’ following their arrival in February 2007 but it never happened. Their expensive plans have since been written off Planning permission still exists to build the stadium designed by Manchester architects AFL but obtaining a lucrative naming rights deal is crucial to subsidising the £300m project.
Mr Ayre said talks with interested major companies are ongoing, while Liverpool are also continuing to assess whether refurbishing Anfield to a 60,000 capacity is financially viable.
