Anfield

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Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, in Liverpool, England. The stadium has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since the club's formation in 1892 and was the home of Everton F.C. until 1892, when they left following a rent dispute. It is a UEFA 4-star rated stadium, and has hosted numerous international matches at senior level, including England fixtures, the ground was also used during Euro 96 to host matches. There is a memorial to the victims of the Hillsborough disaster outside the ground, which features an eternal flame.

The stadium currently comprises four stands; Spion Kop, Main Stand, Centenery Stand and Anfield Road. The record attendance of 61,905 was set in an FA Cup tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1952 before the ground was converted to an all-seater stadium. Each of its four stands has since been converted to all-seater following the recommendations of the Taylor Report. A new stadium in Stanley Park, which will replace Anfield and hold 25,000 more spectators, is scheduled to open in 2011.

History

Anfield was opened in 1884, it was originally owned by John Orrell, a brewer and friend of John Houlding; the leaseholder of Anfield, Orrell decided to let Everton rent the land for a small fee. The first game played at Anfield was between Everton and Earlstown on September 28, 1884, which Everton won 5–0. Everton continued to use the ground until 1892, when a dispute with Houlding over a rent increase led to them leaving and moving to Goodison Park. During the eight years Everton played at the stadium, a small stand had been erected, for some of the 8,000 spectators regularly attending games. Houlding was left with an empty stadium, and decided to form a new club to occupy it. The team was called Liverpool Association Football Club, and their first match at Anfield was played on September 1, 1892 against Rotherham Town, which they won 7–0.

Liverpool's first league match at Anfield was played on September 9, 1893 against Lincoln City, with Liverpool winning 4–0 in front of 5,000 spectators. A new stand was constructed in 1895, capable of seating 3,000 spectators. It was constructed on the site of the present Main Stand and remained until 1973, although many changes were made to it over the years. The stand had a distinctive red and white gable, and was similar to the main stand at Newcastle United's ground St James' Park. The stand proved to be a landmark in English football. Another stand was constructed at the Anfield Road end in 1903, built from timber and corrugated iron. After Liverpool had won their second League Championship in 1906, a new banking was built at the Walton Breck Road. A local journalist, Ernest Jones who was the sports editor of local newspapers the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo christened it the Spion Kop. It was named after a famous hill in South Africa where a local regiment had suffered heavy losses during the Boer War in 1900. More than 300 men had died, many of them from Liverpool, as the British army attempted to capture the strategic hilltop. Around the same period a stand was built on Kemlyn Road.

The ground remained much the same until 1928 when the Kop was redesigned and extended to seat 30,000 spectators with a roof erected. Many stadiums in England had Kops, however Anfield's was the largest Kop in the country, and was able to hold more supporters than some entire football grounds. It remained virtually unaltered until 1994, when it was turned into an all-seater stand following the Taylor Report. The topmast of the SS Great Eastern, one of the first iron ships, was rescued from the breakers yard at Rock Ferry, and was hauled up the Everton Valley by a team of horses to be erected alongside the new Kop where it still stands today.

In 1957 floodlights were installed and on October 30, 1957 they were switched on for the first time for a match against Everton, to commemorate the 75-year anniversary of the Liverpool County FA. In 1963 the old Kemlyn Road stand was replaced by a cantilevered stand, seating 6,700 spectators and built at a cost of £350,000. Two years later alterations were made at the Anfield Road end, turning it into a large covered standing area. The biggest redevelopment came in 1973, when the old Main Stand was ripped down and a new one was constructed. At the same time, the pylon floodlights were pulled down and new lights installed along the top of the Kemlyn Road and Main Stands. The new stand was officially opened on March 10, 1973 by the Duke of Kent. In the 1980s the paddock in front of the Main Stand was turned into seating, and in 1982 seats were introduced at the Anfield Road end. The Shankly gates were erected in 1982, a tribute to former manager Bill Shankly; Shankly's widow Nessie unlocked the gates for the first time on August 26 1982.

Coloured seats and a police-room were added to the Kemlyn Road stand in 1987. In 1989 after the Hillsborough disaster, the Taylor Report stated that all grounds in the country would be converted into all-seater grounds. In 1992, a second tier was added to the Kemlyn Road stand, turning it into a huge double decker stand, to include executive boxes, function suites as well as 11,000 seats. The plans to expand the stand had been made much earlier, but two old ladies living in Kemlyn Road refused to move out of their house and the plans were put on hold. When one of the old ladies died the other finally moved out and the plans were put into action. The stand was officially opened on September 1, 1992 by UEFA president Lennart Johansson and re-named the Centenary stand. The Kop was rebuilt in 1994 after the Taylor Report and became all seated, although it is still a single tier, the capacity was significantly reduced to 12,390.

On December 4, 1997, a statue of Bill Shankly, created from bronze, was unveiled at the visitor's centre in front of the Kop. Standing at over tall, the statue depicts Shankly wearing a fan's scarf around his neck and in a familiar pose he adopted when taking applause from fans. The last change to Anfield came in 1998 when the new two-tier Anfield Road end was opened. The stand has encountered a number of problems since its redevelopment, at the beginning of the 1999–2000 season a series of poles had to be brought in to give extra stability to the top tier of the stand. During Ronnie Moran's testimonial against Celtic many fans complained of movement of the top tier. Investigations found that the frequency of the construction was not high enough and stantions were inserted. At the same time that these were inserted the executive seating area was increased down a couple of rows in the main stand to the detriment of fans seated in the paddock.

Structure and facilities

The pitch is surrounded by four all-seater stands, the Anfield Road end, the Centenary Stand, the Kop and the Main Stand. All stands are covered, the Anfield Road end and Centenary Stand are multi-tiered, whilst the Kop and Main Stand are single-tiered. Entry is gained by RFID smart card rather than the traditional manned turnstile. This system, used in all 80 turnstiles around Anfield, was introduced in 2005.

The Centenary stand was originally named the Kemlyn Road stand before the addition of a second tier in 1992. After the expansion was complete, the stand was renamed the Centenary stand to mark the club's hundredth anniversary. The capacity of the stand is 11,762, with 4,600 spaces on the upper tier and 6,814 on the lower tier, with 348 spaces also available in the executive boxes within the stand. The Anfield Road stand is used to house the away fans during match-day, the stand was once a simple single-tier stand, with multi-coloured seating seats. In 1998 a second tier was added to the stand, increasing the capacity to 9,074, consisting of 2,654 spaces on the upper tier, 6,391 on the lower tier and 29 disabled spaces.

The Kop was originally built in 1906 as an uncovered terrace capable of holding 30,000 spectators, a large roof was added in 1928. However following the Hillsborough disaster and the subsequent Taylor Report, a new all-seater Kop was constructed with a capacity of 12,409, with nine disabled spaces. The Main stand was erected in 1895, and remained largely the same until 1973 when the stand was redeveloped with the addition of a new roof. The capacity of the stand is 12,277—consisting of 9,597 main stand seats, 2,409 available in the paddock, 177 in the directors box, 54 for the press box and 40 disabled spaces.

There are 32 spaces available to accommodate wheelchair users, 22 spaces are available for general sale, eight spaces are allocated to the away supporters, and another two spaces are kept unused for emergency circumstances. There are 36 spaces available for the visually impaired, the seats are situated in the paddock area of the Main stand, with space for one personal assistant. A headset with full commentary is also provided.

The Hillsborough memorial is situated alongside the Shankly gates, and is always decorated with flowers and tributes to the 96 people who died at Hillsborough. At the centre of the memorial is an eternal flame, signifying that the 96 will never be forgotten. The stadium features tributes to two of the club's most successful managers; the Paisley Gates, in tribute of Bob Paisley, who guided Liverpool to three European Cups and six League Championships in the 1970s and 80s, and Shankly Gates, in tribute of Bill Shankly, Paisley's predecessor between 1959 and 1974. There is another tribute to Shankly; a statue of Bill Shankly, created from bronze, is located at the visitor's centre in front of the Kop.

Future

Original plans to replace Anfield were initiated by Liverpool in May 2002. At that time the proposed capacity was 55,000, but it was later revised to 61,000, with 1,000 seats given for segregation. The club had first announced its intention of building a new stadium 18 months earlier, with the original plan as a 70,000 seat stadium which would cost around £200 million and would be ready for the 2004–05 season. There were several attempts by Liverpool City Council to instigate a groundshare of the stadium with local rivals Everton from 2003 to 2007, but this move was finally rejected as neither club was in favour of the move.

Liverpool were granted planning permission to build a new stadium on July 30 2004, just away from Anfield at Stanley Park, and on September 8 2006 Liverpool City Council agreed to grant Liverpool F.C. a 999-year lease of land on the proposed site. Following the takeover of the club on February 6 2007 by George Gillett and Tom Hicks the proposed stadium was re-designed. In November 2007 the new design was approved by the council and construction is due to start in spring 2008. The new stadium is being built by HKS, Inc. and is scheduled to open in August 2011, with a capacity of 71,000. Once the new stadium is built Anfield will be knocked down and become the centrepiece for the Anfield Plaza development, which would include a hotel, restaurants and offices.

Other uses

Anfield has hosted numerous international matches, and was one of the venues used during Euro 96; the ground hosted four matches, which included three group games and a quarter-final. The first international match to be hosted at Anfield was between England and Ireland, in 1889, with England winning 6–1. England have also played Wales on three occasions, in 1905, 1922 and 1931, with England winning all three matches. The last international to be hosted at Anfield was England's 2–1 victory over Uruguay on March 1 2006. Anfield has also hosted five FA Cup semi-finals, with the last being in 1929.

Anfield has been the venue for many other events, and during the inter-war years boxing matches were regularly held there. A number of British championships were contested and on June 12 1934, Nelson Tarleton fought for the World Featherweight title against Freddie Miller. Professional tennis was played at Anfield on boards on the pitch, with the US Open champion, Bill Tilden and Wimbledon champion, Fred Perry entertaining the crowds. During the mid-twenties, Anfield was the finishing line for the city marathon. Liverpool also held an annual race starting from St George's plateau, in the centre of the city and finishing with a lap of Anfield. In July 1984, the American evangelist Billy Graham preached at Anfield for a week, attracting crowds of over 30,000 a night.

Records

The highest attendance recorded at Anfield is 61,905 for a match against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup fifth round on February 2 1952. The record modern (all-seated) attendance is 44,983 for a match against Tottenham Hotspur on January 14 2006. The lowest attendance recorded at Anfield is 1,000 for a match against Loughborough Town on December 7 1895. The highest average attendance at Anfield over a league season was 48,127, set in the 1972–73 season. The lowest average attendance at Anfield was 29,608, set in the 1960–61 season, whilst the team was in the Second Division. The highest total seasonal attendance was recorded during the 2000–01 season when the aggregate was 1,328,482 during a season in which Liverpool won a treble of the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup.

Liverpool did not lose a home league match at Anfield during the 1893–94, 1970–71, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80 and 1987–88 seasons. They also won all their home games during the 1893–94 season. From January 1978 to January 1981, Liverpool did not lose a match at Anfield, encompassing 85 games, in which Liverpool scored 212 goals and conceded 35. The record gate receipts taken at Anfield is £496,000, for a match against Newcastle United, on April 3 1996.

Transport

The stadium is approximately from Lime Street Station, which lies on a branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston. Kirkdale Station is the nearest station to Anfield, and is approximately a mile from the stadium. The stadium has no parking facilities for supporters, and the streets around the ground are subject to a residents-only permit parking scheme.

References

General

• Official Liverpool website. liverpoolfc.tv. Retrieved on 2008-02-21..Specific

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Last updated on Wednesday March 12, 2008 at 07:41:38 PDT (GMT -0700)
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