- Stadium Name: Anfield
- Year Opened: 1884
- Capacity: 61,276
History of the stadium
Welcome to Anfield, the home of Liverpool Football Club. It was originally the home of Liverpool’s bitter arch-rivals Everton but after a land dispute in 1982, John Houlding created the Reds to occupy his empty stadium.
The first Liverpool game at Anfield was a friendly against Rotherham which was played in front on 200 people on 1 September 1892 in which the Reds won 7-1. Liverpool won 4-0 against Lincoln City on 9 September 1982 in their league debut at the stadium in front of 5,000 supporters.
A new stand was built in 1895, designed by Archibald Leitch, it sat where the current main stand sits, another was constructed at the Anfield Road end in 1903 before the Spion Kop was built in 1906, named so because of a hill in South Africa where a local army regiment suffered heavy losses during the Boer War and the Kemyln Road stand was built around the same time.
The Kop was extended in 1928 to hold 30,000 supporters and it was the largest ‘Kop’ stand in the country, the old Kemlyn Road stand was replaced in 1963 with the Anfield Road stand being renovated two years later. Finally, the Main Stand was partially demolished then extended in 1973.
There were a few small renovations since including the Kop being reduced due to the Taylor Report and the Kemlyn Road stand, which is now known as the Kenny Dalglish stand being rebuilt in 1992 but the major expansion came under the ownership of Fenway Sports Group as the Main Stand was redeveloped in 2016 taking the capacity to 54,742, adding 8,500 seats. The Anfield Road end was then redeveloped after the previous work was completed, finishing in 2024 and giving a capacity of 61, 276 and making it the fifth largest stadium in England.
Anfield’s stands
The Spion Kop
Constructed: 1906
Refurbished: 1928, 1994
Capacity: 12,850
Anfield Road End
Constructed: 1903
Refurbished: 1928, 1965, 2021-2024
Capacity: 16,000 (approximately)
Main Stand
Constructed: 1895
Refurbished: 1973, 2014-16
Capacity: 20,676
Kenny Dalglish Stand
Constructed: 1906
Refurbished: 1963, 1992
Capacity: 11,762
Notable matches at Anfield
1 September 1892: Liverpool 7-1 Rotherham – First ever Liverpool match at Anfield.
9 September 1892: Liverpool 4-0 Lincoln – First ever Liverpool league match at Anfield.
2 February 1952: Liverpool 2-0 Wolves – Highest ever attendance at Anfield as 61,905 supporters attend an FA Cup clash.
16 March 1977: Liverpool 3-1 Saint-Etienne – Liverpool overturn a European Cup quarter-final deficit on the way to winning the competition for the first time.
14 April 2016: Liverpool 4-3 Borussia Dortmund – Liverpool produce insane comeback to progress in Europa League.
7 May 2019: Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona – Best comeback in football history as the Reds overturn a 3-0 deficit to reach the Champions League final.
22 July 2020: Liverpool 5-3 Chelsea – Liverpool lift their 19th league title in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
19 May 2024: Liverpool 2-0 Wolves – Jurgen Klopp‘s last game as Liverpool manager.
How to get to Anfield
The Soccerbus is the most convenient way to get to Anfield, it operates two hours before each match and leaves from Sandhills station, with a return service also available for up to 75 minutes after final whistle.
The 917 service runs from near Lime Street Station and the return operates from Walton Lane after the match and the 26 runs from Liverpool ONE bus station while the 17 runs from Queen Square bus station.
Lime Street Station is two miles from Anfield with buses and taxis available, Kirkdale is the nearest station as it is 1.4 miles away and approximately a 30-minute walk.
Meanwhile, for those travelling by car, the stadium does not have parking facilities and the streets surrounding the ground are only for residents with permits.