Liverpool's £80m Anfield Road stand renovations could be hit with FURTHER delays

The contractors behind Liverpool's Anfield redevelopment project have filed for administration, as work continues on the new upper tier of the Anfield Road stand.

A source told Mail Sport that workers on the site were sent home this morning after news broke that Buckingham Group Contractors had filed a notice of intention to appoint administration on Wednesday, and those on site seemed to be seen leaving later that day in a video shared to X (formerly Twitter).

The club were previously hit with a set back to the £80million stadium developments after it was announced that the new tier will not be open for the club's first home match, against Bournemouth on August 19.

Work started on the development of the stand in September 2021 with the aim of completion ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.

Liverpool were granted special permission by the Premier League ahead of the start of the season to play their opener away from home in a bid to finish the project, which will increase the ground's capacity to 61,000.

But in order to comply with Liverpool City Council requirements, more work must be completed, and the club will fall back on a plan where additional capacity is incrementally phased in over future home fixtures.

Jurgen Klopp's side will play just two home matches before the September international break.

In a statement shared by a Liverpool spokesperson in the wake of the administration news, the club 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 at the earliest opportunity.'

Delays to the work could have an impact on the timeline for the stand's reopening in its entirety.

In Buckingham Group's last reports from 2021 saw the firm suffer a close to £11m pre-tax loss against the backdrop of severe delays to their other major stadium work, Fulham's Craven Cottage Riverside Stand project.

The project is currently two years behind schedule, and is itself subject to a phased opening.

Fulham told supporters this week that the stand's additional capacity seating would be available at the start of the 2024/25 season - five years after the project's start date.

As per This is Anfield, the company responsible for cladding the new stand, subcontractor SD Samuels, previously filed for administration in December, which has in part delayed some of the work to the stand.