Anfield is a football stadium in the district of Anfield, in
Liverpool, England. It is the home of Liverpool F.C..
The stadium was built in 1884 on land adjacent to Stanley Park,
and was originally inhabited by Everton F.C.. They were founder
members of the Football League in 1888, but left the ground in
1892 over a rent dispute, and moved into the newly-built
Goodison Park, less than a mile away. Anfield's owner, John
Houlding, decided to form a new club to play at the ground,
which became Liverpool. The two clubs became traditional rivals,
and are both among the most successful English teams.
In 1906, the banked stand at one end of the ground was renamed
the Spion Kop, after a hill in Natal that was the site of a
battle in the Second Boer War, where the British forces suffered
heavy losses. Many other football grounds, such as St Andrews,
Birmingham and Hillsborough, Sheffield, adopted the name of "Kop"
for one of their stands, but it was the Anfield Kop that became
most synonymous with the name. At its largest, the stand could
hold 28,000 spectators, and was one of the largest single tier
stands in the world. Local folklore claimed that the fans in the
Kop could "suck the ball into the goal" if Liverpool were
playing towards that end. The stand was considerably reduced in
size due to safety measures brought in following the 1989
Hillsborough disaster, and it was completely rebuilt as an all
seater stand in 1994, although it is still a single tier. The
current capacity is 12,409.
The other stands are:
* Main Stand - erected in 1895 and more or less unchanged to the
present day, with a capacity of 12,277.
* Centenary Stand - known as the Kemlyn Road stand until it was
expanded for the club's centenary in 1992, with a capacity of
11,762.
* Anfield Road Stand - rebuilt in 1998, with a capacity of
9,074, including the away fans section.
The ground incorporates several notable features, including a
memorial to the 96 fans who died in the Hillsborough disaster.
There is a statue of Bill Shankly, as well as a pair of gates at
two entrances to the stadium, the Shankly Gates and Paisley
Gates, named after Shankly and his successor Bob Paisley.
Floodlights were installed in 1957.
"Fortress Anfield" gained a reputation as one of the most
difficult grounds for visiting teams. Manager Bill Shankly, who
engineered the club's dominance of English football in the 1970s
and 80s, had a sign proclaiming "This Is Anfield" mounted on the
wall above the exit from the players tunnel, to intimidate the
opposition. Many of the Liverpool players reach up and touch the
sign as they pass underneath it for good luck.
Due to the difficulties of expanding Anfield beyond its current
boundaries (an entire terraced street had to be demolished to
make way for the Centenary Stand expansion), Liverpool are
expected to leave the ground in the next few years, and have
submitted plans for a new stadium within Stanley Park. If
successful, the existing location will be redeveloped for the
local community.
The new stadium was suggested to be shared with local rivals
Everton F.C., subject to planning approval, but this is looking
increasing unlikely. |
