Liverpool are about to complete their final major stadium expansion project for the foreseeable future – years after several failed attempts to move the club down the road

Work on the new Anfield Road end is close to completion. Picture from June 23, 2023 (Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)

Liverpool’s £80m Anfield redevelopment is approaching completion ahead of the new Premier League season – following various failed projects over the years.

The Reds are increasing their iconic home’s capacity from 53,000 to 61,000 by expanding the Anfield Road end. The work won’t quite be completed ahead of their first home game of the new season, against Bournemouth on August 19, when only the lower tier will be open.

It will be the final major development at Anfield for the foreseeable future, with the club’s three other stands relatively new. However, had things turned out differently, Liverpool, unthinkably, could have found themselves playing away from their current site.

Daily Star Sport recalls the club’s other stadium projects which never got off the ground…

The Parry Bowl

This plan was spearheaded by the club’s former chief executive Rick Parry, currently the chairman of the EFL, and was dubbed the ‘Parry Bowl’ as a result. It would have seen the club relocate, albeit just 270m away to Stanley Park.

How the stadium dubbed the ‘Parry Bowl’ would have looked

Keeping the Anfield name, it was due to have a capacity of 55,000 with a planned completion date sometime in 2005. However, there were concerns over its bland design, which featured few unique elements.

Former Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry (Image: Phil Cole/Getty Images)

There were concerns over this design’s shortage of unique features

The Spaceship

Deeply unpopular former owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett also looked at moving the club to Stanley Park but with a very different design which looked more like a spaceship.

Costing £300m, it would have held 60,000 with the ability to expand to 75,000. Unlike the previous plan, it would have featured a proper, single-tier Kop. However, this spaceship failed to get off the ground.

The ‘spaceship’ concept which never got off the ground

This version had a single-tier Kop

‘Mini Wembley’

After the spaceship design fell by the wayside, a new ground which bore more than passing resemblance to the new Wembley was mooted.

One plan looked strikingly like the new Wembley

Cheaper than the previous plan, the project got approval from the local council but, again, failed to come to fruition. There were delays and excuses from the owners, who eventually sold amid growing descent from the fans.

Current owners FSG did examine moving the club before eventually deciding to redevelop the existing Anfield instead.