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Anfield is a football stadium in the district of Anfield, in Liverpool, England. It is the home of Liverpool F.C.

History

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 formally 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. 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 - rebuilt in 1973 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 rebuilt for the club's centenary in 1992, with a capacity of 11,762. This redevelopment saw all of the houses in Kemlyn Road demolished and the address become non-existent.
• 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, and first used in a game against Everton.

"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, which was "to remind our players who they're playing for, and remind the opposition who they're playing against". 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. The plans, originally approved in February 2005, needed to go before Liverpool City Council for a second time some 12 months later to ensure that the proposed stadium complied with new planning regulations. It was reported on 11 April 2006 that the plans had passed without amendment The club now looks for investors to help fund the £160m, 60,000 all-seater stadium..

In the early stages, there had been suggestions for the new stadium to be shared with local rivals Everton F.C. but this is unlikely.

Details

Address

Anfield Road

Liverpool

L4 0TH

Phone numbers

Main Telephone: 0151-263-2361

Main Fax: 0151-260-8813

Ticket Office: 0870-220-2345

Ticket Office Fax: 0151-261-1416

Records

Record Attendance: 61,905 v Wolverhampton Wanderers, February 2nd, 1952 (FA Cup 4th Round)

Average attendances (Premier League)

• 1999-00: 44,074
• 2000-01: 43,698
• 2001-02: 43,389
• 2002-03: 43,243
• 2003-04: 42,706
• 2004-05: 42,587
• 2005-06: 44,236

International matches

A number of international matches have been played at Anfield, including some that were nominally "home" matches for Wales. The ground also hosted four matches in the Euro 96 finals. The latest international match to be hosted at Anfield, in 2006, took place on 1 March. This was a friendly between England and Uruguay which England won 2-1.

External links

• My Anfield - Collection of fans' memories
• Pictures at Anfield
• Anfield at Google Maps

Template:Fb start Template:UEFA4Star Template:Fb end

• Buildings and structures in Liverpool
• Everton F.C.
• Football venues in England
• Liverpool F.C.
• Sport in Liverpool
• UEFA 4 star stadiums
• UEFA European championship stadiums
• Premier League Stadia