http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/klopp-players-help-liverpool-fc-12218174Ian Ayre has spoken of the input from Jurgen Klopp and senior players into the new design of 'world class' facilities at Anfield.
The Liverpool chief executive confirmed work at Anfield will go on into next year with new dressing rooms and media facilities still to be completed and incorporated.
And even German manager Jurgen Klopp has had his input into how things will look.
Ayre said: “The players’ facilities will be world class when they are finished.
“Jurgen and some of the key players have had a key part in developing that.
“We have sat with them and with the architects and designers and they have all made their input into what the dressing room will look like, what the media space will look like, what the tunnel will look like.
“So lots more to come there, still some exciting stuff to add.
“And then a new store."
A much enlarged club store will be built fronting Walton Breck Road and planning permission is already in place.
“We have planning permission for a new store on Paisley Square and we are just finishing the model on that. That will start to come out of the ground like a phoenix from the ashes as well.”
So will success - and to most fans that means winning a league title - a feat commonplace for Liverpool in the 60s,70s and 80s but not achieved for over a quarter of a century, now follow?
Ayre said: “That is what everybody wants, right.
“From John Henry, Jurgen Klopp, Ian Ayre...it’s what everyone wants and it’s what we are here for.
“It’s what the players turn up every day for and it’s what the fans turn up every week for.
“There is nobody in this football club, nobody who works here, who doesn’t want that. And it would be fantastic.
“It’s been a great start to the season, there’s a long way to go and all those sorts of things. But we are in good shape, on and off the pitch right now. And that’s a good place to be.
“So fingers crossed."
'You've got to have hospitality - it pays for the lion's share of the return on the investment'
It was the iconic ex Liverpool manager Bill Shankly who once described a football club as a Holy Trinity involving the players, the manager and the directors. And who then went on to dismissively say the directors ‘were only there to sign the cheques’.
The Kop loved that at the time. And many core supporters may still feel the same way.
So seeing Liverpool FC’s new £115m Main Stand offer widespread, new opportunities and facilities for business guests and corporate clients - men and women in suits rather than hats and scarves, if you like - still sits uncomfortably with a fair few.
Liverpool FClub chief executive Ian Ayre looks out over Anfield from Liverpool's new Main Stand. Photo by Colin Lane
So has Liverpool managed to strike the right balance between the Kopites and the Corporates?
“I can’t speak for everybody," said Ayre, who took over as Liverpool managing director in 2011.
“All I can say is that one of our core objectives was to ensure we had something for everyone. And I absolutely believe we have achieved that.
“Some fans - some of my friends who are fans - would never deem to think the idea of going in a corporate box or in a lounge with a suit on would ever cross their mind. And that’s fine. I respect them for that view.
“But it isn’t what everybody wants and if you are trying to create something for everyone, you have to do that and it’s right and proper that you do that.
“It’s also economically a fact that these type of structures don’t work without hospitality. You’ve got to have that - it pays for the lion’s share of the return on the investment.
“I think also we have a responsibility to this local area and this city. These facilities as you say are fantastic and are already providing a fantastic atmosphere on a match day and adding to the whole experience of a football match.
“But for the other six days a week, they are providing other fantastic, much needed facilities for dinners, for weddings, for business events - for all manner of different events. And that’s really important.
“You know, as a city we want to attract inward investment; as a city we want more visitors; as a city we want to make more people come to this city and leave feeling that it’s a great city - on the move, on the way up, which it really is.
“This is part of that.
“We have got a room here that can take 2,000 people - a corporate space. And we’ve got a range of different lounges for 300-500 people.
“We’ve got corporate boxes that seat 20 people or more and such a range of facilities that people can use for business. And that’s really important to the city.
“I think that’s a big plus and a big addition.
Liverpool Football Club Chief Executive Ian Ayre and Liverpool's new Main Stand. Photo by Colin Lane
“And we are already seeing the demand for that. If you can come and have a wedding or you can come and have your annual general meeting and the backdrop is looking out of the window onto the pitch at Anfield, then it’s a pretty special occasion for whoever that is, particularly if you are a Liverpool fan.
“I used to be chair of the Visitor Economy and this can make a huge difference.
“Obviously they have built the Exhibition Centre now alongside the ECHO Arena and BT Convention Centre - but even then, if you have got big exhibitions in there, they are then struggling for a 500 people dinner because most of the hotels don’t take that number. So it really is a plus.
“There is already lots of interest. We are already seeing big bookings for Christmas and beyond.
"So in terms of that offering, it has been very well received."
