Liverpool Football Club today announced another delay for the proposed new stadium which could mean a massive blow to see work starting in Stanley Park. Although Hicks himself said in an interview earlier this year that the credit crunch would not affect the stadium plans, it seems the excuse this time around is exactly that.
It is understood that it wont be for another year until work might start on a new stadium but in the meantime, the latest plans for a 60,000 seater stadium wil be looked into being increased to a 73,000 capacity. But how are fans able to believe anything after another setback like this?
Surely this is another nail in the coffin for the American owners’ hold on Liverpool and the general feeling amongst fans is that it’s even more obvious these men are wrong for the club and need to pack up and leave.
Spirit of Shankly spokesman Jay McKenna said: “SOS has been expecting this news for over a week.
“It is our firm belief that the owners have neither the resources nor the intention to deliver this project, and are using the current economic climate as a subterfuge while they attempt to drive the potential sale value of the football club up.
“As SOS has maintained throughout this debacle, the owners have no money, no credibility and no dignity, and are not fit custodians of the club.
“We demand their immediate resignation and the sale of the club to fit and proper owners.”
It’s very clear that off the pitch, Liverpool FC are going further backwards with the owners not willing to dig into their own pockets. Apparently Hicks and Gillett have been in talks with the Royal Bank of Scotland looking for more debt to plunge the club into. A loan in the region of £300 million to fund the stadium was obviously passed back when finding out they would have to provide around £200 million in equity to fund such a loan.
It’s many months now since Gillett said work on the stadium would begin in 60 days. Maybe he actually meant months. It is after all only one small word to mistake in a statement. One thing is for sure though. The mistake of ever letting these owners get a hold of Liverpool Football Club is appearing far larger than any stadium that anyone could ever dream of making.
The official statement from the club earlier today: “Our commitment to building a new world class LFC stadium is undiminished. Like many other major development projects in the UK and overseas we are affected by global market conditions and as such work on the project will be delayed in the short term. We will use this period productively and progress the proposals for the stadium to increase its capacity to 73,000 seats.”