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However, even their historic stadium showed signs of struggling under adverse weather conditions in their recent pulsating tie against old adversaries Manchester United as footage circulated on social media showed water pouring in from the top of both the Main Stand and the Anfield Road Stand.
Heavy snowfall had affected the region the evening before, which saw the UK Met Office issue an amber weather warning. Such was the ferocity of the conditions that concerns over fan safety meant that two meetings of the city's Safety Advisory Group were held on Sunday morning to determine whether the game should go ahead. In the event, the match proceeded as planned. Anfield has experienced torrential rainfall before and not suffered leaks so an investigation is aiming to discover why it was a problem on this occasion.
Videos shared on social media captured streams of water flowing down the steps of the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand, creating a small flood around the pitch’s protective moat.
One thing that is for certain, United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been left with quite a significant headache, and an even bigger decision to make, as to whether the club remain at historic Old Trafford, or move to a new development1 the current front runner of the two choices.
with sizeable operational
Accessibility Issues Aging Premier League stadiums face an abundance of accessibility challenges, including insufficient spaces for wheelchair users, limited accessible seating, and the general all-round inadequate facilities for a club's disabled fanbase.
, which is said to be
And given the size of Old Trafford, a new fixed roof would be a multimillion-pound cost2
considerations. A retractable roof, which adds complexity and technology, could exceed £200 million.
Limited Capacity The Premier League is the most popular football division on the planet, and with that comes the desire for people all over the world to try to grab tickets to watch their favourite club. This is where older stadiums often fall short of meeting these demands, as they tend to come with insufficient seating and amenities to meet modern day expectations.
A study conducted last Association4
year by the Football Supporters found that the top disability-related barrier fans face when attending live sport is physical access at stadiums.
Safety Concerns
The older stadiums that still stand in the Premier League also tend to struggle to comply with modern fire safety and crowd management regulations.
Some of the key issues and reasoning behind the compliance failures are narrow exits, outdated fire suppression systems, and insufficient evacuation routes. Each of these raises the risk of an incident occurring and will require costly retrofitting5 get in line with modern safety standards.
to Continued on Page 32...
Liverpool's phased expansions at Anfield, including the recent Anfield Road Stand project3
, were carefully designed to minimise
disruptions while improving stadium capacity and maintaining that unique atmosphere that the stadium has become world- renowned for. Even whilst construction was ongoing, Liverpool was able to host over 50 football matches and a host of converts too, without the need to reduce seating capacity at all. The club achieved this by working around the Anfield schedule, which included completing a large chunk of the work during pre-season and utilising efficient construction techniques such as modular assembly and crane technology.
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