What Liverpool Fans Would Love to See at Upgraded Anfield Stadium

Liverpool last month announced plans—actually, they announced that they have hopes of announcing plans in the future—to upgrade and improve their Anfield stadium in place of building an entirely new one in Stanley Park close by.

For supporters there might be conflicting thoughts: glad that the announcement might finally mark the beginning of the end after a decade of uncertainty and broken promises—but perhaps disappointed to a point that there will not, in the end, be a new stadium to look forward to.

The plans for the new ground have not yet been finalised as there are a series of permissions and appeals to get through before any groundwork or restructuring starts.

Here, though, are five things that many fans have voiced opinions of wanting once the stadium redevelopment gets under way.

Finally.

Single-Tier Kop

Liverpool have been famed for many reasons over the years—trophies, top players, unlikely successes, famous managers—but one of the undying, endearing images is that of the Kop stand in full sway.

A two-tiered Kop has been mooted in the past but Liverpool need to keep their stadium with the Kop as a single entity, a block of fans sat as a mass of red.

Pregame, especially on a European match or key game in the league, the flags and scarves are an impressive sight to inspire the team.

The Kop itself seems unlikely to be changed at all in the planned updates, but any future upgrades to the stadium on that particular stand needs to ensure it remains as a single tier.

60,000-Seat Capacity

Anfield's current capacity of around 45,000 is insufficient for the Reds' needs, both on a supporting and a commercial scale.

An increase for Anfield needs to be of 15,000 seats in the near future. As an extremely rough calculation, 19 home league games with an increased capacity of that amount will bring Liverpool an additional £11.5 million a season.

Add into the equation additional match-day revenue and cup fixtures, and the need for Liverpool to reach this level at least is obvious.

Fewer Restricted-Viewing Seats

Easy one this time.

Liverpool's stadium has had its share of renovations over the years, but some sections remain with slightly to severely restricted viewing.

The new design of the stadium has to try and eliminate all or as many of these restrictions as possible.

Increased Corporate Seating

Maybe some fans wouldn't actually think of wanting an increased capacity of corporate seats, but the fact is that it's a complete necessity in the upgraded stadium.

Corporate seating brings in additional revenue to the club, can aid in commercial activities and generally has a higher spend-per-seat than "normal" seating in the stadium.

It's an absolute necessity in the modern stadium that corporate services are catered for as much as possible. Liverpool have good facilities within the stadium area now with a restaurant, postgame centre, a family area and of course the stadium tour.

Further improvements to this end will aid what the club call the overall stadium experience—with the eventual aim, of course, of increasing match-day income.

Improvements to the Surrounding Area

Anfield is a great stadium for many reasons, but anybody who has been there knows that the same cannot be said of the surrounding area.

Anfield itself and Breckfield, the general Rockfield triangle area, have long been ill-looked after and left, basically, to waste.

On a match day the area is filled with people, spending money in the fast-food stalls and the corner shops—but basically desolate and in disrepair the rest of the time.

Rows of homes are left empty in the surrounding streets and the idea of Stanley Park being the centre of the regenerated area has obviously long gone out the window; with it, a better local sports facility to replace the Vernon Sangster centre and a plaza lined with shops and other commercial opportunities has also fallen by the wayside.

Liverpool Football Club, along with the city and local councils and residents, will have a social obligation to improve the overall aspect of the area to ensure that the revamped stadium is not only the centre of Liverpool FC's future, but also that of the homeowners and locals who spend their lives close by.

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