Anfield Stadium

Verified Timeline

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 1892, negotiations to purchase the land escalated into a dispute, leading to Everton's move to Goodison Park. John Houlding formed Liverpool F.C. to occupy the stadium. The topmast of the SS Great Eastern was rescued from a ship breaking yard and hauled up Everton Valley to be erected alongside the new Kop in 1928. It still stands there, serving as a flagpole.

In Their Own Story

On 30 October 1957, floodlights costing £12,000 were switched on for a match against Everton to commemorate the Liverpool County Football Association's 75th anniversary. The atmosphere has seen record-breaking crowds, with the highest attendance of 61,905 set during a match between Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1952. The stadium has hosted international matches, including England versus Ireland in 1889 when it was considered an international standard ground. Managerial legacies are etched into the concrete. Bill Shankly's statue was unveiled on 4 December 1997 by his widow Nessie, who also unlocked the Shankly Gates for the first time on 26 August 1982. These gates bear the words 'You'll Never Walk Alone,' adopted from Gerry and the Pacemakers. Decades later, on 30 January 2020, a statue of Bob Paisley was unveiled outside the Main Stand by sponsor Standard Chartered. The statue depicts Paisley carrying captain Emlyn Hughes off the field in April 1968. In 2024, capacity surged to over 61,000 following redevelopments to the Anfield Road Stand, continuing a cycle of growth that began with Fenway Sports Group's decision in 2010 to expand rather than relocate to Stanley Park.

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 feature the words 'You'll Never Walk Alone'.
• The topmast of the SS Great Eastern was erected alongside the Kop in 1928 and still serves as a flagpole.