Soccer-Liverpool set to earn more from boxes than seats
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Liverpool will make more
money from corporate boxes than new supporters when they
finally move to their new 60,000-seater stadium in Stanley
Park, the club said on Tuesday.
Ian Ayre, Liverpool's commercial director, said it was
estimated more than 50 percent of income on match days will
come from the sale of seats in corporate boxes rather than the
increased numbers in mainstream seating.
The new stadium will increase corporate seating from 3,000
currently at Anfield to 10,000. Liverpool has 40,000 season
ticket holders with a waiting list of a further 65,000.
"The new stadium is clearly a business opportunity. But it
will be important to maintain the integrity of the Liverpool
brand and fan experience at Anfield," Ayre said during a
seminar on stadium commercial opportunities in Johannesburg.
Central to the new stadium is the preservation of the
famous Kop, packed each week by home fans.
It will increase from 12,000 seats to 20,000, around the
same number the Kop attracted when it was standing room only."
Ayre stood by the club's decision to delay the construction
of the stadium until the global credit crunch eases.
"It's been a strange period but our decision to delay
construction was certainly the right one," he added. "We have
since seen the costs come down."
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Martin Petty)