British facilities management and construction firm Carillion "has been chosen" as Liverpool's preferred bidder for the £75M ($129M) expansion of its Anfield stadium, according to Laurence Dodds of the London TELEGRAPH. If given planning permission, the long-touted make-over will increase the ground’s capacity to almost 59,000, making it the third largest club stadium in the country. Construction "is expected to start later this year and take 20 months, including work on surrounding public land." The project "follows almost two decades of debate around the club over whether to move to a new stadium or expand their current home" (TELEGRAPH, 7/2). In Liverpool, Neil Docking wrote Carillion hopes to keep as much of the existing Main Stand as possible in use during the building work and said that "it would do this through an innovative construction programme." If consent is granted, "the proposals would see the capacity of a new Main Stand rise by 8,500, taking it to nearly 21,000." The Carillion group "is a leading support services company with a portfolio of Public Private Partnership projects and capabilities for a wide range of construction projects" (LIVERPOOL ECHO, 7/2).
