The redevelopment of Liverpool’s Anfield Road stand is facing further complications with the main contractor set to go into administration.
Liverpool announced last month that their £80m stand was behind schedule and would not be fully open for the first home game of the season against Bournemouth on Saturday. The club has now been notified that Buckingham Group, the main contractors on the delayed project, has applied to enter administration. The company employs more than 600 staff.
Liverpool expect Buckingham to continue work on the planned phased opening of the stand, which will increase the capacity to 61,000, but it remains to be seen whether the contractor can meet the rearranged schedule completion date of October.
A club spokesperson said: “Buckingham Group has made us aware that it has filed for a notice of intention to appoint administrators. This filing does not impact the planned opening of the new Anfield Road stand’s lower tier on Saturday for the match against Bournemouth.
“Following the successful test events earlier this week, Liverpool City Council’s building control team issued a safety certificate to operate the lower tier of the Anfield Road stand and we look forward to welcoming supporters to Anfield for our first Premier League home game of the season against Bournemouth.
“We will work with Buckingham Group on the planned phased opening of the remainder of the new stand and will continue to keep supporters updated on arrangements for future games. Specifically, our intention is to update all supporters who have a ticket for the Aston Villa match [on 3 September] at the earliest opportunity.”
A number of subcontractors are also involved in the project and there were reports on Thursday of workers being sent home from the construction site. Liverpool have been approached for further comment.
