The club announced on Thursday (4 December) that work would begin immediately on the construction of a new main stand, increasing capacity to 54,000 and doubling the number of hospitality seats from 3,500 to 7,000.
Defending the rise in the number of tickets that would go to corporate guests, Liverpool FC's chairman Ian Ayre said: "I don’t think there’s a football club in the country who could afford to spend money on a new stand without the assistance of corporate hospitality. It pays,"
"It will probably pay two thirds or more of the payback of this facility and that is a fact of life. You can’t find economic solutions that work in big new stadiums that don’t have corporate.
"We will still be some way behind the corporate hospitality numbers they have at Old Trafford and probably around the same sort of level they do at Arsenal. That feels right for the model we have created.
"The overall percentage of corporates when we finish will not be that dissimilar from today. We are increasing capacity and keeping the corporate seats in line as a percentage. We know the demand is there for both.
"Driving prices in those corporate areas helps. People often point at the corporate fans and say they are not real fans or whatever, but the reality is they make a huge contribution to the football club and keep ticket prices at the level they are. Without them, the revenues would be much smaller and if other costs were at the same level, everybody else would get hit in some form: sponsors, general admission prices, everyone."
Anfield currently offers a range of conference facilities in a choice of 10 suites and lounges, with the largest spaces accommodating up to 500 delegates for a reception. A new museum was also launched recently at the stadium with private hire opportunities.
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