Anfield Redevelopment: How Have Liverpool Supporters Taken to New-Look Stadium?

After a summer of considerable redevelopment, Anfield opened its doors to the public once again for Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Leicester City on September 10, providing Jurgen Klopp’s side with an impressive backdrop to a 4-1 victory.

The day before, club luminaries such as Ian Rush, Jamie Carragher, Robbie Fowler, Kenny Dalglish and Roy Evans, as well as co-owners John W. Henry and Tom Werner, assembled on the new Main Stand for its official unveiling, with the latter delivering a proud address.

“As we stand here in the shadow of this phenomenal structure, it is easy to be taken by the sheer scale of what has been achieved in delivering it,” he said, before describing how Liverpool’s “home” had retained its “identity”:

For us this project is not just about improving our home. We want all of the supporters to feel what we feel, which is future success on the pitch. Because Anfield isn’t just where we play our matches, it’s home and is as much a part of the identity of the club as the Liver Bird on the crest of the shirt.

So I hope today when you come inside and when many more thousands come in here tomorrow, they will think that every decision we have made has been to protect the integrity of Anfield, while looking to modernise and progress the club so we can continue to compete at the highest level possible.

But after Henry and Werner delivered on a promise made six years ago, on their takeover of the club as part of Fenway Sports Group, was this mere club propaganda, or is the new-look Anfield really the iconic stadium envisaged?

After over two months and six home games, Merseyside has been able to adjust to the change, and to garner the opinion of supporters, Bleacher Report spoke to Jeff Goulding, Ben Twelves, Chris Williams and Henry Jackson—all writers for This is Anfield and, crucially, long-serving followers of the club—to discuss the stadium’s new facilities, the effect of Anfield’s atmosphere and the retention of its history.

On arriving at the new-look Anfield, the most immediately striking aspect is the improvement of the facilities around the stadium—particularly outside the new Main Stand, where 96 Avenue links Paisley Square and the city’s Stanley Park, providing a more open feel to the ground.

“In modern-day football, it’s easy to harp back to the ‘good old days’ and want things never to change, but Liverpool have to move with the times,” Jackson told B/R of Anfield’s exterior makeover. “Personally, I see the work done as a huge improvement, and it gives Anfield an even more imposing look than before. It is both more aesthetically pleasing and practical.”

“The area around the ground has been an eyesore for decades, and the local community have suffered for a long time,” Goulding explained. “The opening-up of the area behind the Main Stand and its connection with Stanley Park to form 96 Avenue is a breath of fresh air. The trees are a nice addition, and with plans afoot for more improvements to the neighbourhood, the future looks bright for the area.”

There has been a negative impact of the improvements around Anfield on the local area, however, as Goulding attests: “The main impact, though, is in the pubs around the ground. The increased numbers means they are far busier and some—like my pre-match boozer the Flat Iron—are struggling to cope.”

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The new 96 Avenue now incorporates a much-changed players’ entrance—previously a heavily congested area along Anfield Road—allowing the team bus to drive directly into the stadium, but still providing considerably more space for supporters to welcome the players.

“Previously one side of Anfield would grind to a halt as the team coach manoeuvred through the tight Anfield Road and narrow Main Stand …

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