Liverpool chief exec Ian Ayre says 'a rounded solution' must be met to expand Anfield Road stand and adds fan investment is 'worth looking at'
- Liverpool have permission to redevelop their Anfield Road stand
- Chief executive Ian Ayre says 'a rounded solution' for estimated £60m-£70m expansion must be found before work can begin
- Ayre refused to rule out supporter investment as a potential option
Liverpool chief executive Ian Ayre says the club must settle upon 'a rounded solution' before plans to expand the Anfield Road end of the stadium can advance - and has not ruled out supporter investment.
Ayre explained in a meeting with the Liverpool Supporters' Committee that, if the stand was to be expanded by 6,000 seats, redevelopment would cost between £60-£70m.
'If you consider the redevelopment of Anfield Road from a purely general admission perspective... 6,000 extra seats to take the capacity up to 60,000 would cost somewhere between £60m and £70m,' Ayre said, according to the minutes of the meeting.
Ian Ayre (left) believes supporter investment in expanding Anfield is 'worth looking at'
Liverpool have permission to expand the stand (right) and could take capacity close to 60,000
Ayre said possible investment from the club's supporters is 'an interesting proposition'
'At £12,000 to £13,000 per seat, it would take approximately 15 years to pay back, which is not a smart investment for the business.
'Therefore the club needs to find a rounded solution that's in the best interests of the football club.
'There are people who would think a 15-year return would make sense, and that’s the supporters. The supporters would fund such a development upfront if the club made an appeal for financial support.
'I'm not in a position to speak for the owners or their plans, but it's an interesting proposition and one worth looking at.'
The expansion of Anfield has been one of the key assignments taken on by Liverpool's owners, Fenway Sports Group, who bought the club in October 2010.
They have already overseen the expansion of the Main Stand at Anfield, which took the stadium's official capacity up to 54,074 from 45,000.
Liverpool's principal owner, John Henry, has helped oversee the expansion of the Main Stand
Liverpool's Main Stand, which cost £115m, took capacity up to a total of 54,074
That came at a cost of £115m. FSG funded the work themselves and anticipate being repaid over six years, interest free, due to around half of the new seats being built for hospitality.
'A stand behind a goal doesn’t have the benefit of hospitality that would go a long way to meet the redevelopment costs,' Ayre said.
Ayre will leave Liverpool when his contract expires in May 2017.
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