Liverpool FC are finalising plans for phase two of Anfield’s overall stadium development, with the expansion of the Anfield Road End taking the capacity of the stadium to around 61,000.

Announcement expected this summer

Club have been considering 3 proposals

Work will begin after new training ground is complete next year

Phase one of Anfield’s redevelopment saw the Main Stand increase the famous stadium’s capacity to just over 54,000, with work being completed last season.

Next, the proposed phase two – which the club have outline planning permission for as part of their original planning application in April 2014 – will add a further 7,000 additional seats.

That new capacity of around 61,000 would make Anfield the second biggest club stadium in the country behind Old Trafford – although Manchester City have plans to expand their stadium to a similar size and Tottenham‘s new White Hart Lane will hold 62,000.

Liverpool have had three designs drawn up, with the final design to be revealed later in 2018 – most likely in the summer.

The new stand, which will see Anfield Road itself closed off, will be the same height as the new Main Stand and from the outside will aesthetically look the same with a three-tier design. Plans include an external podium similar to the Main Stand and large glass windows.

Away fans will be housed on the other side of the stand, nearer to the Kenny Dalglish stand and therefore where visiting coaches arrive into Arkles Lane.

The club will complete the new training complex at Kirkby, with work there due to start imminently, before beginning construction of the new Anfield Road End.

The £50 million training ground expansion is set to be completed in 2019, with a roadmap for the Anfield Road End seeing its completion in 2021.

That would be a similar timeframe as the Main Stand, which saw construction begin in December 2014 and conclude just in time for the 2016/17 season.

The current Anfield Road End holds just under 9,000 supporters but features heavily obscured views in the back sections of the lower tier. The new stand will have fully unobstructed views and will house around 16,000 supporters.

Given that the new Main Stand holds around 20,000 supporters and the Kop has a capacity of 12,600, you can get a sense of the scale and how vast the new stand will be.

The last official word from the club regarding the expansion of the Anfield Road End was in December when CEO Peter Moore told Sky Sports: “We totally get what we need to do. We’re going to do what we did with the Main Stand as an operating group, which is look at what we need to do in a measured manner.”

Last April, Andy Hughes, Liverpool’s chief operating officer, explained that: “We always said that we would complete the Main Stand and assess its success before looking at any development for Anfield Road.

“Our outline planning consent expires in August 2019 and we will follow the same robust process for Anfield Road as we did for the Main Stand.

“We are currently working up design, feasibility, cost, capacity and economic viability options. Only once we have completed this comprehensive process and come to a conclusion will it be the right time to move forward with any development programme.”

You can therefore expect an announcement on the new plans before that August deadline.

There are no plans to expand either the Kop or the Kenny Dalglish Stand, or to ‘fill in’ the corners of the stadium – this is due to the external cantilever supports at each end of the Kop.