Liverpool owner John Henry questions whether new stadium is vital

16 Jun 2012 10:47:00

The American owner wishes to increase commercial revenue as opposed to moving to a new home and believes the idea is not as essential as some fans may think

Liverpool's principal owner John W. Henry believes that the club do not need to move to a new stadium or refurbish Anfield and feels that fans should begin to see the benefits of maximising commerical revenue around the club.

The Fenway Sports Group, of which Henry is part, and who own the club, have been questioned in recent weeks over whether the need is greater to build a new stadium or increase the size of Anfield.

Henry met these questions with a firm response, suggesting that it is a "myth" that Liverpool are only able to compete at the highest level dependent on their seating capacity.

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Instead, Henry feels the club must begin to generate commercial revenue via their on-pitch performances rather than focus on a business model adopted by Arsenal and Manchester United, among others, in recent years.

In response to a question from the media, Henry was quoted as saying by The Times: “Whatever the reason, a belief has grown that Liverpool must have a new stadium to compete with United, Arsenal and others. Nobody has ever addressed whether a new stadium is rational.

“The difference [with Chelsea, Arsenal and others] stems as much from revenue per seat as the number of seats. Even if Liverpool had 60,000 seats, there would have to be an increase from £900 to £1,550 in revenue per seat as well to catch Arsenal. Can Liverpool as a community afford Chelsea or Arsenal prices? No.

“Our future is based [on] building a strong club that can compete with anyone in Europe. This will be principally driven financially by our commercial strength globally.”

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