Liverpool's stadium upgrade, which began in September 2021, has caught a significant delay. The enlarged stand on the Anfield Road side of the ground was due to be ready for the start of the 2023/24 season, but it has still not been fully opened to fans. We now know that this will definitely not happen in the current calendar year.

The second phase of Anfield's upgrade was expected to see The Reds' home ground grow to over 60,000 seats. Work started in the autumn of 2021 and progressed smoothly, but problems with the investment started practically at the very end. In July, we reported that the enlarged Anfield Road Stand would open later than scheduled. Initially there was talk of a slight postponement, but we now know that the new stand will not open in 2023.

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Sections on the Anfield Road Stand extension were due to open in stages, but the initial minor delays in the works became more serious when the development's general contractor, Buckingham Group, filed for administration. As a result, they were put on hold completely. Liverpool has now found a replacement and the completion of the works will be undertaken by Rayner Rowen Construction.

Liverpool chief executive Billy Hogan has confirmed that the new upper tier of the Anfield Road stand will not be ready to open until 2024. Over the course of the last few days it has become clear that in order to complete a thorough assessment of that project completion timeline, it’s going to take longer than really we first thought. Ultimately, what that means for supporters is that until we have visibility of all the information needed, we’re going to have to maintain the status quo for the remainder of the calendar year, essentially meaning capacity at Anfield will remain the same as for the previous home games that we’ve seen this season, - Hogan said.

Hogan added that Rayner Rowen needs time to gather information before giving any timetable. He also confirmed that fans who have bought tickets for seats in the upper tier for matches this year - including the Merseyside derby against Everton - will be contacted by the club and the situation will be resolved so they do not lose their credit.

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