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| Liverpool Ground Name: Anfield |
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| Contents | |
| What's The Ground
Like? Future Developments Centenary & Anfield Road Stands (photo) What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? The Kop (photo) Where To Drink? Main & Anfield Road Stands (photo) How To Get There By Car & Where To Park By Train Local Rivals Bill Shankly Gates (photo) Admission Prices Ground Layout Fixtures 2007-2008 Programme & Fanzines Ground Tours & Museum Disabled Facilities Record & Average Attendance Fans Ground Reviews Old Anfield Hotel Accommodation Feedback Return To The Main Menu |
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| What's The Ground Like? | |
| Walking up to the ground alongside Stanley
Park, I have to say, that from a distance, Anfield is not particularly
impressive. Inside though,
the ground is wonderful and only the most critical of visitors would find
fault with it. The
famous Kop Terrace at one end of the ground, has been replaced by a huge stand designed to emulate
the old Kop, hence it's odd shape (kind of semi circular) and single large tier. The other
end, the Anfield Road Stand, part of which is given to away supporters, is the most recent
addition to the ground. It has boosted not only the overall capacity of the
stadium, but
has given Anfield a more balanced and enclosed feel as all corners are now filled. On one side of the
stadium is the large, two tiered, Centenary Stand, where the
front tier leg
room is the tightest I have ever known. Opposite is the Main Stand, the oldest in the ground and
looking
its age with a number of supporting pillars. This stand has a TV gantry
suspended beneath its roof. In the corner between the
Kop & Centenary stands is an electric scoreboard, which surprise, surprise,
shows the match score in bright red letters. Around the outside of the ground, there are the Bill Shankly Gates on Anfield Road. These wrought iron gates have the legendary Liverpool phrase 'You'll Never Walk Alone' displayed above them. There is also a statue of the great man, Bill Shankly near the Club shop. Also along Anfield Road, there is the moving memorial to the victims of the Hillsborough disaster, which always has flowers adorning it. |
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| Future Developments | |
| The Club have received planning permission to build a new 60,000 all seated stadium, to be located in nearby Stanley Park. Preliminary work will commence on building the new stadium during 2007 and it is planned that it will be open for the start of the 2010/11 season. The stadium will feature an 18,000 capacity, single tier kop stand. Images of its futuristic design can be found on the BBC Liverpool website. | |
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| What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? | |
| Away fans are located in the Anfield Road Stand at one end
of the ground, where just under 2,000 seats are available, although this
can be increased for cup games. This stand is also shared with home
supporters, some of whom will be sitting in the small seated tier above
the away fans. Malcolm Dawson a travelling Sunderland supporter adds; 'Try to
avoid getting tickets sold as restricted view, for the rear rows of the Anfield
Road Stand as it can be difficult to see the goals with people standing up
in front of you'. Kimberly Hill adds; 'Restricted view doesn't even begin to describe what it was like. The Wolves fans insisted on standing so it was like trying to watch the game through a letterbox!' The facilities within the stand are not bad. There is a Ladbrokes betting outlet and the refreshment kiosks sell a wide variety of burgers, hot dogs and pies, including a 'Scouse Pie' at £1.80. I have always found it to be a good day out at Anfield, getting the feeling that you are visiting one of the legendary venues in world football. This is enhanced with the teams coming out to 'You'll Never Walk Alone' reverberating around the ground, with the red and white scarves and flags of the fans displayed across the Kop, at the beginning of the match. The atmosphere is normally great, so sit back and enjoy the experience. |
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| Where To Drink? | |
| The Arkles pub near to the
ground (see directions by car), is known as the away fans pub,
but as can be expected it can get extremely
crowded. Mark Parsons a visiting Aston Villa fan adds; 'We
arrived at the Arkles at about 1.15pm
and already found it packed out, with fans
queuing outside to get in. We asked a very helpful
WPC for any other away friendly pubs and were told to go to the Flat Iron
which was a five minute walk away. Although the
pub was mostly full of Liverpool fans,
the bars were mixed and all were very friendly.
There is also a good chippy located on the other
side of the road. To find this pub, turn
left at the junction where Arkles is (with the
ground over to your right down Anfield Road).
Head away from the ground and the pub is down
on the right hand side'.
Brian McIlwrick informs me; 'I got to the ground at around 1.30pm and decided to enter the away end early, only to find that they don't serve alcohol to away fans. Be warned!' |
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| How To Get There By Car & Where To Park | |
| Follow the M62 until you reach the end of
the motorway (beware of a 50mph speed camera about a
1/4 of a mile from the end of the motorway). Then follow the A5058 towards Liverpool. After three miles
turn left at the traffic lights into Utting Avenue (there is a McDonalds
on the corner of this junction). Proceed for one mile and then turn right
at the Arkles pub for the ground. If you arrive early (around 1pm) then
there is street parking to be found. Otherwise it as an idea to park in the
streets around Goodison and walk across Stanley Park to Anfield,
or you can park in a secure parking area at Goodison itself which costs £6. For a map showing the location of Anfield click here (to take you to the Street Map website). To go to a simplified page, containing the directions and pub info, which you can print out click here. |
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| By Train | |
| Kirkdale station is the closest to the
ground (just under a mile away). However, it may be more
advisable to go to Sandhills Station as this has the benefit of a bus service to the
ground, which runs for
a couple of hours before and a couple of hours after a game and drops you
within easy walking distance of the ground.
Gary Beaumont adds; 'The best route for away fans from the city
centre if they want to use public transport is definitely the Merseyrail
Northern Line to Sandhills where they alight and catch the special
Soccerbuses; trains can be caught from Liverpool Central and Moorfields. If
fans are buying their train tickets in Liverpool, ask for a return to
Anfield as opposed to Sandhills even though that's where you're getting
off. The advantage of doing this is that the train ticket is valid also for
the Soccerbus and the additional fare is only £1
return as opposed to £1 each way that you'd have to pay on the bus if you
only bought your ticket to Sandhills. If fans want to get a taxi
from Lime Street, they're about £6'. Both Sandhills & Kirkdale stations
and can be reached by first getting a
train from Liverpool Lime Street to Liverpool Central and then changing
there for Kirkdale. The main railway station in Liverpool is Lime Street which is over three miles from the ground and is really too far to walk (although it is mostly downhill on the way back to the station), so either head for Sandhills or Kirkdale stations or jump in a taxi. Craig Hochkins adds; 'you can catch various buses from the bus station which is seven minutes walk away from the train station and is well signposted. Either the 17a 17b 17c or the 26 will drop you right outside the ground at a cost of about a £1. The buses are run by Arriva and the journey takes about 15 to 25 minutes dependant on traffic'. Walking Directions From Kirkdale Station: On exiting from Kirkdale Station turn right and then cross the railway bridge, you will see a pub opposite called the 'Melrose Abbey', (which has been recommended). Walk up Westminster Road, alongside the pub and continue along it, passing the Elm Tree pub. Follow the road around the right hand bend and then turn left into Bradwell Street. At the end of Bradwell Street you will come to the busy County Road (A59). Cross over this road at the traffic lights and then go down the road to the left of the Aldi superstore. At the end of this road you will reach the A580 Walton Lane. You should be able to see Goodison Park over on your left and Stanley Park in front of you. Cross Walton Lane and either enter Stanley Park following the footpath through the park (keeping to the right), which will exit into Anfield Road and the away end. Or bear right down Walton Lane and then turn left down the road at the end of Stanley Park for the ground. Thanks to Jon Roche for providing these directions. |
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| Local Rivals | |
| Everton & Manchester United. | |
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| Admission Prices | |
| The Club operate a category system, so
that ticket prices vary with the opposition being played. The categories;
A & B are shown in brackets: Home Fans: Main Stand - Adults (A) £34, (B) £32 Centenary Stand - Adults (A) £34, (B) £32 The Kop - Adults (A) £32, (B) £30 The Kop Family Ticket - 1 Adult (A) £32, (B) £30, + up to 2 Children (each child charged at half adult price ticket) Anfield Road Stand - Adults (A) £34, (B) £32 Anfield Road Family Ticket - 1 Adult (A) £34, (B) £32 + up to 2 Children (each child charged at half adult price ticket) OAP's All Stands - (A) £25.50, (B) £22.50 Away Fans: Anfield Road Stand: Adults - Adults (A) £34, (B) £32 OAP's - (A) £25.50, (B) £22.50 Juniors - (A) £17, (B) £16 |
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| Fixtures 2007-2008 | |
| For the Liverpool fixture list click here (to take you to the BBC Sports Website). | |
| Programme & Fanzines | |
| Official Programme: £3 The Liverpool Way Fanzine: £2 Red All Over The Land Fanzine: £1.50 |
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| Ground Tours & Museum | |
| The Club offer tours of the ground, which
operate on a daily basis, except Bank Holidays and
matchdays. There is also a museum at
the ground and the club offer combined tour & museum
tickets as well as individual museum entrance. The costs are: Ground Tour & Museum: Adults: £10, Children & OAP's £6 Museum Only: Adults: £5, Children & OAP's £3 For details of family tickets and for making tour bookings call: 0151-260-6677. |
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| Hillsborough Memorial | |
| There is a memorial, on Anfield Road (just along from the away end), dedicated to the victims of the Hillsborough disaster. As Peter Bennett says; 'the memorial to the victims of Hillsborough next to the away end is a poignant place to visit every time we go to Anfield.' To see a photo of the memorial click here. | |
| Disabled Facilities | |
| For details of disabled facilities at the ground please visit the relevant page on the National Association Of Disabled Supporters (NADS) website. | |
| Record & Average Attendance | |
| Record Attendance: 61,905 v Wolverhampton Wanderers FA Cup 4th Round, February 2nd, 1952. Modern All Seated Attendance Record: 44,983 v Tottenham Hotspur Premier League, January 14th, 2006. Average Attendance: 2006-2007: 43,561 (Premier League) 2005-2006: 44,236 (Premier League) 2004-2005: 42,587 (Premier League) |
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| Fans Reviews Of Anfield | |
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James
Roddis (Derby County) 1/9/07 Chris Ackrill (West Ham United) 26/8/06 Colin Brown (Southampton) 28/12/04 Chris Ruse (v AS Roma) 19/3/02 |
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| Old Anfield | |
| To see a photo of the Kop prior to its redevelopment then click here to take you to the Old Grounds & Stands Section of the Guide. | |
| Hotel Accommodation | |
| If you require hotel accommodation in the area then first try a hotel booking service provided by Football Hotels who are powered by Activehotels, who specialise in locating accommodation near or within a short travelling distance of the football ground. They also have the added advantage over some other hotel booking services that you pay on departure. Yes this site will earn a small commission if you book through them, but it will go to help with the running costs of keeping the Guide going. To access their Liverpool page click here. | |
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Feedback |
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If anything is incorrect or you have something to add, please e-mail me and I'll
update
the guide. |
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