When the 300-tonne roof truss was lifted on top of the Anfield Road development last month, it was the most visibly striking moment of the construction work so far.
For Liverpool, the £80m development is to form a vital aspect of their revenue generation moving forward, increasing the capacity of Anfield by 7,000 seats to 61,000, helping them satisfy the enormous demand for tickets to watch Jurgen Klopp's team.
After the pandemic and the shuttering of stadiums saw matchday revenue for the Reds, which sat at around £84m in 2018/19, significantly impacted. But with stadiums open and fans back in their numbers once again, any fears have been allayed and Liverpool could well be on course to achieving matchday revenues in excess of £100m in the near future.
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The global pull of the Reds, their legions of fans on Merseyside, around the UK and across the world, mean that satisfying demand for tickets is something that has never been an issue for the club and owners Fenway Sports Group.
Matchday revenue a decade ago stood at £40.9m. At its high point in the 2019 financials, pre-COVID, the rise has been 48.6 per cent. That is a trend that will only continue heading in one direction as the need for more seating is addressed, as well as the other commercial benefits that will come alongside the development, meaning that the construction cost will soon be paying off.
Matchday revenue is one area that FSG want to address and improve, as is their merchandising and digital business. And with investment from FSG into the SpringHill Entertainment Company owned by FSG partner and basketball icon LeBron James, which is set to aid Liverpool's digital storytelling in the future, there are opportunities aplenty.
Speaking to Off The Pitch, Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan said: "Matchday revenue is incredibly important. When we look at long term growth our partnerships business still has plenty of room to grow. Our merchandising business still has plenty of room to grow, and sitting within that and maybe underpinning it as well, is our digital business.
"Those are the areas where we would look at continued growth in the next five to 10 years. The vision, the philosophy, the mindset of how we operate as a club is principally in trying to operate in a sustainable manner. That's not just Liverpool, that's across all of Fenway Sports Group.
"What it means is that we try and generate as much revenue as we possibly can across the various areas of revenue generation, and try and control our costs.
"That sounds kind of simple and trite. But that really is the philosophy and everything that we make from a profitability standpoint, is then reinvested to give Jurgen Klopp, Julian Ward and also Russ Fraser and Matt Beard on the women's side, the ability to then reinvest in the squads to win championships and win trophies. That's ultimately the goal."
Hogan told the ECHO last month that the Anfield Road redevelopment remains on track as the club targets it being ready and operational for the beginning of the 2023/24 season. Part of making that happen has meant the Reds have had to postpone plans for another summer of successful music concerts, as was seen in recent months, until 2024 in order to ensure that deadlines are met.
But one potential headache the club could have faced has been largely avoided. The economic uncertainty, impacted in no small part by the Russian military of Ukraine earlier this year, has seen the price of materials rise, and the increase in fuel costs has impacted the logistical cost.
But, as Everton did with their contractors at Bramley-Moore Dock, Laing O'Rourke, Liverpool negotiated a fixed price contract with contractors Buckingham to provide them with greater cost certainty.
Hogan told the ECHO during Liverpool's pre-season visit to Thailand: "Overall, the project has been on track, on budget and on time and Buckingham, our partners on the construction, have been great. Thankfully, we had a fixed-cost contract, and while there is the impact of the pandemic and supply chain issues affecting everyone across the world right now, we haven’t been overly impacted."
It won't be until the accounts appear in 2025 that the first impact of the build will be seen in the Liverpool accounts. But in being able to satisfy considerably more demand for tickets and raising revenues from next season, that will likely embolden FSG to continue to back Klopp in the market next summer.
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