Looking to boost matchday revenues under Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool have completed a series of redevelopment works over the past decade to significantly raise the capacity of one of their iconic home, Anfield, one of the loudest stadiums in the Premier League.
The Reds kicked off a multi-stage project to expand the ground back in the mid-2010s, with the new Main Stand taking the stadium's capacity from 45,362 to 54,167 in 2016. Despite an almost 10,000-seat increase, the club were far from finished, and plans to revamp the Anfield Road Stand were announced in 2021.
The majority of the work to install an additional 7,000 seats to the stadium – 5,200 for general admission and 1,800 for hospitality – was intended to be completed in the summer of 2023, but the timeline slipped due to the originally contracted construction company entering administration.
Rayner Rowen eventually took over the reported £80m project, though it took until the visit of Manchester United in 2023 for a partial reopening, and until February 2024's clash against Burnley to be fully operational, not to mention that the expansion was only ‘completed' in March 2025 after being certified by Liverpool City Council.
Read on as Football Ground Guide considers the impact of the Anfield Road expansion, and takes a look at where Liverpool's home ranks amongst Premier League stadiums in terms of capacity in 2025-26.
Anfield new capacity
As of the beginning of the 2025-26 Premier League season, Liverpool's current capacity is 61,276. Their highest-ever Premier League attendance was registered last season in a match against Ipswich, when 60,420 fans turned up to cheer on the Reds.
The current capacity is still lower than Anfield's all-time record attendance, though. This was achieved during an FA Cup game against Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1952, when 61,905 fans were inside the ground.
Has the Anfield expansion had an impact on the atmosphere?
Despite the positives of an increased capacity, some match-going Liverpool fans have had complaints about how the atmosphere inside the stadium has dwindled, particularly during league matches deemed of less importance. Adding more corporate areas is said to have made Anfield more sanitised, which is detrimental to what made the ground famous in the first place.
The latest expansion to the Anfield Road Stand has only made these complaints louder, with some fans claiming that fans in the newly expanded area aren't interested in helping to generate the famous Anfield atmosphere.
Club captain Virgil van Dijk has taken steps himself to try to return the atmosphere at Anfield to its previous levels. The centre-back, who all Liverpool supporters adore, began asking Liverpool fans to wear red again for home games at the end of the 2024/25 season.
Van Dijk’s message was certainly heard by fans, with Anfield becoming a sea of red for the club’s Premier League title lift in May, and while this has unfortunately not continued in the same manner this season, it could be something the club revisits for big matches towards the end of the campaign.
Much talk of lack of atmosphere at Anfield yesterday. Is the expansion with main focus on hospitality suites and commercialisation to blame for the lack of atmosphere?. Some say the atmosphere was equally flat vs. Brentford??
— theKop1952 (@theKop1952) September 15, 2024
Could Anfield capacity increase in future?
Every football club aims to expand its stadium to make more money from ticket sales and to enhance the game-day atmosphere. Liverpool are no exception, but whether they will make any further changes to Anfield in the immediate future remains to be seen.
According to the club's CEO, Billy Hogan, there are no plans for additional expansions right now, but with several other clubs in the Premier League amid changes, the club could reconsider if such a move is structurally possible.
There are a few challenges when it comes to expanding Anfield further. One key issue is that any additional expansion could create even more traffic problems in the area, which are already significant. Another concern is that the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand can't be expanded much more due to limited space, unless the club relocates nearby homes, which has been a controversial topic in the past.
While some fans dream of enlarging the famous Kop Stand, expanding it poses logistical issues since it’s close to roads and local shops. Any plans to make it bigger would disrupt the lives of locals, something that is far from ideal for a stadium that's woven into a working-class area of a working-class city.
Another issue with expanding the Kop is that you could lose what makes it so special. If it became bigger, then you are only increasing the chances of non-passionate supporters snagging tickets. There is also a chance the acoustics could be impacted.
In summary, while everyone wants Anfield to grow, further expansion isn’t easy and perhaps illogical given the potential drawbacks.
Anfield capacity: Where does it rank among PL grounds?
With Anfield now boasting a capacity north of 61,000, where does it sit in the list of Premier League stadiums in terms of capacity?
- Manchester United – 75,653
- West Ham – 62,500
- Tottenham – 62,062
- Liverpool – 61,276
- Arsenal – 60,704
- Manchester City – 55,097
- Everton – 52,769
- Newcastle – 52,338
- Sunderland – 48,707
- Aston Villa – 42,660
- Chelsea – 41,798
- Leeds – 37,645
- Wolves – 31,700
- Brighton – 30,750
- Nottingham Forest – 30,576
- Crystal Palace – 26,074
- Fulham – 25,678
- Burnley – 21,994
- Brentford – 17,250
- Bournemouth – 11,464
While Anfield ranks highly amongst Premier League stadiums in terms of capacity, the ever-changing landscape of the football world means the ground is unlikely to stay in fourth place for long. Arsenal are looking at potentially expanding the Emirates Stadium, while Manchester City's North Stand expansion is set to take the Etihad's capacity to over 60,000.
Newcastle’s potential move to Leazes Park would add their stadium capacity north of 70,000, too. Meanwhile, Chelsea are also continuing to flirt with the idea of moving away from Stamford Bridge to a new, bigger home.
FGG says: An iconic stadium for decades to come
In the era of new stadiums, it's always good to see an iconic stadium standing the test of time. With the expansion of the Anfield Road Stand at Anfield, it at least looks like Liverpool will be staying at the legendary stadium for a while yet.
