Liverpool close in on new stadium



The club aims to start building the stadium later this year

Liverpool's plans to build a new 60,000-capacity all-seater stadium have moved a step closer after the club secured crucial European funding.

The European Union Objective One grant of £9m will be spent on regenerating the area around the Stanley Park site.



Liverpool were given the money after guaranteeing that the £180m funding for the entire project is in place.



They can now claim £5m from Liverpool City Council and £8.9m from the Northwest Regional Development Agency.



The city council approved a 999-year lease on the stadium site - which is 300 yards away from Anfield - on 8 September.



Planning permission for the scheme came with the proviso that investment would be made in the surrounding area, including the park.



The European money will not be spent on the new stadium but on schemes such as the creation of a shop-lined plaza on the site of their current Anfield home.



Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry said: "It's another significant step forward in our plans for the building of a new stadium, which we have always seen as a catalyst for the regeneration of the whole area."



Councillor Flo Clucas, chairman of the Objective One project selection sub-committee, added: "This is a major step forward for the people of Anfield.



"It will underpin substantial investment by other partners, whose commitment will help transform the neighbourhood."