Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan has said there will be a delay in the opening of the new ground at Anfield and the game against Aston Villa will have the same capacity as the Reds’ first home game against Bournemouth last Saturday .
Work to complete the upper tier of the stands was halted last week after it was revealed that contractor Buckingham Group had submitted a notice appointing administrators. This meant that Liverpool’s game against Bournemouth was played with the stadium completely closed, resulting in a crowd of less than 50,000 and many fans without tickets for the game.
Jurgen Klopp’s men are set to play at Anfield on September 3 when they host Aston Villa in the Premier League and there is bad news for fans as the capacity will be the same, according to the Reds CEO.
Billy Hogan gives you the latest on the new Anfield Road End
Providing an update on the situation with the new grandstand via This is Anfield, Billy Hogan said of This is Anfield: “Following the announcement, major works on the site were effectively halted on Thursday morning which clearly an impact on our overall planning.”
“Obviously the timing is incredibly fluid right now, there’s a lot of uncertainty about where we stand and as time goes on that will obviously become clearer.” “It is important not to create false expectations. We wanted to make sure to provide an update.
“We announced a few weeks ago that we would be working on a gradual opening [and] that plan obviously stands.”
“We will continue to provide updates as we get them and we will be able to provide further clarity on the timetable for the completion of the project in the coming weeks,” the Liverpool CEO continued.
“To be clear, based on the news we received on Thursday, we are currently in a certain impasse and this will need to end before we can actually begin the next steps.
“But if Buckingham goes into administration, then we will have to address any delays that may cause in completing the new stand.”
yes continue