Anfield Stadium

Lore & Background

The stadium is named after the surrounding area, Anfield. The word originated in the combination of Old and Middle English words, which mean 'a field on a slope'. Anfield, and its deviations, has been associated with the area since at least 1642. It has been suggested that the name is linked to the influx of Irish people into the spreading city in the 1850s, and was associated with Annefield, outside New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland. Opened in 1884, Anfield was originally owned by John Orrell. The first match at the ground was between Everton and Earlestown on 28 September 1884, which Everton won 5–0. In 1928, the topmast of the SS Great Eastern, one of the first iron ships, was rescued from the ship breaking yard at nearby Rock Ferry, and was hauled up Everton Valley by a team of horses, to be erected alongside the new Kop. It still stands there, serving as a flagpole.

Reader's Guide

The stadium has four stands: the Spion Kop, the Main Stand, the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand, and the Anfield Road End. The record attendance of 61,905 was set at a match between Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1952. The ground converted to an all-seater stadium in 1994 as a result of the Taylor Report. Two gates at the stadium are named after former Liverpool managers: Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley.

Both managers have been honoured with statues outside the stadium: Shankly's unveiled in 1997 by the Kop Stand and Paisley's in 2020 by the Main Stand. The ground is 2 miles (3 km) from Liverpool Lime Street railway station. The club proposed relocating to a new stadium in the adjacent Stanley Park in 2002; after Fenway Sports Group acquired Liverpool in 2010, the decision was taken to expand Anfield instead. This extension opened to the public on 9 September 2016, increasing the stadium capacity to 54,074. Redevelopments were made to the Anfield Road Stand in 2024, which increased the stadium capacity to over 61,000.

Did You Know?

• The Spion Kop stand was named after a hill in South Africa where a local regiment suffered heavy losses during the Boer War in 1900.
• The Shankly Gates were erected in 1982 and across them are the words 'You'll Never Walk Alone'.
• The Hillsborough memorial features an eternal flame, signifying that those who died will never be forgotten.