{"id":644,"date":"2011-12-01T20:08:45","date_gmt":"2011-12-01T20:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stadiumguide.nl\/?p=644"},"modified":"2017-03-21T18:37:49","modified_gmt":"2017-03-21T18:37:49","slug":"anfield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stadiumguide.com\/anfield\/","title":{"rendered":"Anfield"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Anfield\"<\/p>\n

Key facts<\/h3>\n

Club: Liverpool FC | Opening: 1884 | Capacity: 54,074 seats<\/p>\n

History and description<\/h3>\n

Anfield was built in 1884, but got initially rented by Everton FC. The first game at the ground, on the 28th of September 1884, saw Everton beat Earlstown 5-0.<\/p>\n

In 1891, Everton moved out of Anfield after a dispute over the rent, and one year later newly-founded Liverpool moved in. Their first match at Anfield was a 7-1 win over Rotherham.<\/p>\n

Anfield underwent several developments in the late 19th and early 20th century, among which in 1895 the construction of a new main stand designed by Archibal Leitch and a decade later the construction of the famous Spion Kop.<\/p>\n

The ground remained more or less the same for the next two decades until the Kop got expanded in 1928. Once completed, it could hold about 30,000 fans.<\/p>\n

Anfield set its record attendances in 1958 when 61,905 people attended a match between Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers.\u00a0Further improvements were made between 1963 and 1973, when the old Main Stand got demolished and replaced with a new one.<\/p>\n

Anfield did not host any matches during the 1966 World Cup, which were instead played at neighbouring Goodison Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the 1980s, a start was made to convert the stadium into an all-seater, and in 1982 the famous Shankly Gates were erected.\u00a0The last significant changes to the stadium were made in the 1990s, first with the rebuilding of the two-tiered Centenary Stand, then with the conversion of the Kop into an all-seater stand, and finally in 1998 with the construction of a second tier on the Anfield Road Stand.<\/p>\n

Anfield was one of the playing venues of the Euro 1996<\/a> tournament, during which it hosted three group matches and the quarter-final between France and the Netherlands (0-0).<\/p>\n

In the late 2000s, Liverpool contemplated moving away from Anfield to a larger and more modern stadium, and even obtained planning permission for a new 60,000-seater stadium at nearby Stanley Park. However, insufficient funding delayed the plans, which were finally discarded in 2012 by the new owners of the club.<\/p>\n

Instead, the ownership opted\u00a0to redevelop and expand Anfield. The first phase involved the reconstruction of the Main Stand, which increased capacity with 8,500 seats to a total of 54,047. Works started in January 2015 and were completed right before the start of the\u00a02016-17 season.<\/p>\n

If there is sufficient demand, plans also\u00a0include a\u00a0possible expansion of the Anfield Road Stand, which would result in a final capacity of about 59,000 seats.<\/p>\n\n\n \t\t\n\t\t\t\t