Twelve months have passed since Jurgen Klopp stuck a shovel in the sand and launched Liverpool’s Anfield Road expansion project.
Since then, a staff of 750 people have worked more than a quarter of a million hours at the venue so far to make great progress on the build, which will bring a further 7,000 fans to Anfield, bringing its capacity to 61,000.
The new stand is officially on track to be completed for the start of next season and has achieved many key milestones since the Reds boss broke ground on September 30, 2021.
Four months after construction, the innovative Y-shaped columns were erected to form a safety zone allowing safe operation of the stand and access for spectators on match days, while construction work continues above.
Since construction work began, more than two million people have visited Anfield, including match days, concerts and stadium tours.
And in July of this year, another important milestone was reached when the 300-tonne roof structure was carefully lifted into place.
Preparatory work for the structure began in May with the erection of two massive steel towers and then two 60-foot columns ready to be placed on either side of the structure.
It took 30 skilled engineers around 12 hours, in record temperatures, to install the armor using two 600-tonne crawler cranes to carry out the heavy lifting.
When everything was lined up, the cranes held it in position until it could be bolted into place. The towers, brackets and trusses are connected by a total of 25,000 bolts.
The roof structure is connected to the new stand, which is being built behind the existing lower level, and the existing roof is expected to be removed during the World Cup in November/December.
And just last week, the Anfield Road billboards were revamped to showcase attacking stars past and present.
Now, 12 months after work began, nearly two-thirds of the main steelwork has been installed on the new Anfield Road Stand, and one-third of the ground floor, level two concourse and terraces have been completed. the top end.
When completed, a total of 3,700 tons of steel will have been used.
Paul Cuttill, Vice President of Stadium Operations at Liverpool Football Club, said: “It has been a very busy twelve months and it is impressive to see what has been achieved during the year. When the project started we had the added challenge of working with Covid restrictions still in place, and the stadium was still in use as a vaccination centre.
“It is exciting to see how it has grown and to see the plans come to fruition. It has been a great achievement to continue to build around a very busy soccer and concert schedule. We are in the last 10 months of construction and it will really start to come to life from this point on.”
Along with the construction, 15 local school children have been chosen as Youth Construction Ambassadors for the project. They have been getting a detailed look at construction and how it is progressing on a monthly basis.
The plan is run by Buckingham’s, the main contractor, along with the club’s Red Neighbors team to introduce young people to careers in the construction industry.
This is the third major capital construction project undertaken by Liverpool in recent years, following the construction of its fantastic new Main Stand in 2016 and the opening of its state-of-the-art AXA Training Center in November 2020.
