Liverpool Continue Search for Main Stand Partner as FSG Reportedly Consider Selling

By Christian Radnedge

Liverpool have insisted that they are only seeking a commercial sponsor for the renovated Main Stand at Anfield, buy but it is understood that privately the club’s owners are open to selling the Premier League outfit.

Fenway Sports Group acquired Liverpool in 2010 for around £300m. Their initial remit was to stabilise the club’s finances after a period of inconsistency under previous owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Also, order sale | in 2011, FSG owner John W. Henry pledged to increase Anfield’s capacity to increase Liverpool’s financial capabilities.

Anfield’s redevelopment was confirmed in December of last year and recent pictures showed the new tier taking shape with 8,500 seats being added, taking the Main Stand capacity to over 20,000 and increasing the overall capacity of Anfield to around 54,000.

The plan is for the Main Stand to be open in time for the start of the 2016/17 season.

Liverpool director Michael Gordon said in July that, as part of a search for the naming rights partner for the new stand, the club would consider “outright investment”.

However, at a supporters club committee meeting, chief executive Ian Ayre insisted that the owners are “not looking for direct investment in the club, but are looking solely for sponsorship partners.

“If, for example, one of those partners brought a strategic opportunity in addition to a naming rights deal, then the Club would not rule out giving up some equity if this meant securing the right deal,” Ayre said.

“However, the Club is not actively looking for equity investment in isolation, as it would only be considered as part of a strategic partnership.”

Whether FSG will be in place to see the new stand opened remains to be seen, as sources close to iSportconnect revealed that the owners are open to selling Liverpool to concentrate on their other properties back in the US, including the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Globe newspaper.

A redeveloped stadium would certainly help in attracting a high price for the club, and give Henry a good return on his £300m investment.