Liverpool Principle Owner John Henry "has raised doubts as to whether the club will push ahead with phase two of its Anfield expansion plan," according to Chris Bascombe of the London TELEGRAPH. Having "successfully overseen the opening of the new Main Stand earlier this season, swelling the capacity to 54,000," the club has outlined planning permission to rebuild the Anfield Road End of the stadium that would extend to 60,000. But speaking in N.Y., Henry said that the issue of ticket pricing in English football "meant it might not be cost effective to proceed." He said, "I don't know if there is a next step because ticket prices are an issue in England. That may foreclose further expansion. We'll have to see." Fenway Sports Group gave Liverpool an interest-free loan of £114M ($147.8M) to pay for the Main Stand. FSG execs "made it clear when on Merseyside in September no conclusions could be drawn about the financial success of the expansion" until Liverpool had played many games in the new-look Anfield. There have "already been some difficulties." An ambition to secure a Main Stand sponsor did not materialize before the opening, while Liverpool’s first ticketing pricing plan announced last spring "proved calamitous, prompting a swift U-turn, an apology to supporters and a freeze on many seating prices for two years." Henry’s comments suggest the ticket pricing for an expanded Anfield Road "were fundamental to funding it." He is "well aware any future attempts to increase ticket prices will meet the same resistance as last season" -- especially "in the light of the millions in TV revenue currently benefiting Premier League clubs" (TELEGRAPH, 9/29). In Liverpool, Andy Kelly reported the "issue" reared its head at the start of the year when FSG announced new ticket prices which included some seats at £77 ($99.83) and a first £1,000 ($1,297)-a-year season ticket, "although other tickets did reduce in price." It led to "a walk-out of more than 10,000 supporters after 77 minutes of the game against Sunderland" on Feb. 6, "black flags blowing on the Kop" as fans streamed to the exits. It took just four days "to have the desired effect as FSG issued a message to fans" which apologized "for the distress caused by our ticket pricing plan for the 2016-17 season" (LIVERPOOL ECHO, 9/29).
