Thursday, December 31, 2009

'April Start' For New Liverpool Stadium, Says Council


Work on Liverpool's new stadium in Stanley Park could begin as early as April 2010, the leader of Liverpool City Council has told the BBC.

Warren Bradley said Liverpool have told the council they are "very close now to securing the finances".

He added it would be "in April that hopefully, fingers crossed, we'll see some activity on Stanley Park".

Bradley also revealed the council would hold talks with Everton about their plans for a new stadium on 11 January.

The government rejected Everton's plans for a 50,000-seater stadium in Kirkby, with Liverpool City Council one of the opponents of the plan.

Development of Liverpool Football Club's proposed new ground has been a casualty of the unstable global financial situation.

Construction on the new site in Stanley Park, which is next to the Reds' current Anfield Stadium and has a planned 60,000 capacity, was frozen in August 2008 after preliminary work because of the financial conditions.

But in September Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks insisted it would go ahead once the financial situation improved, and Liverpool City Council leader Bradley says the club is now confident of securing the required cash in the first three months of 2010.

"What they've said is they'll secure the finances in the first quarter, so that's between January and March," he told BBC Radio Liverpool.

He added that work on Liverpool's new stadium, which is part of England's proposed 2018 World Cup bid, could then begin in April.

"We've been pressing Liverpool Football Club to ensure that they deliver the stadium and if they're not going to deliver it, to come clean with the council so we can look at other options," said Bradley.

"Liverpool Football Club have come back to us and said they're very close now to securing the finances and they want to move on as quickly as possible, not only for the World Cup bid but also for Liverpool Football Club, who see a new stadium as being the heart of the business plan."

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