The US architect HKS, which recently designed a stadium for the Dallas Cowboys American football team - due for completion in 2009 - was instructed by Liverpool's new owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, to redesign the stadium plans which were passed by the David Moores regime last year. Central to the new design is the potential to expand the capacity into the high 70,000s. A second application will be made once transport issues have been addressed.
"When they took over, the first thing Tom and George wanted to do was review the stadium both in terms of the design and the capacity," said Liverpool's chief executive, Rick Parry. "This is the immensely impressive result of their deliberations. A critical consideration was to ensure the stadium sat naturally within its park environment, complementing its surroundings, and a huge amount of work has been done.
"We've also recognised the central importance of the Kop. It will have an increased capacity of 18,000 seats [from the current 12,000] in a single-tier structure. The rake of the stand will be steeper and the seats tighter together, with the acoustics of the roof designed to accentuate the atmosphere during games."
Liverpool's captain, Steven Gerrard, led the praise for the plans and claimed it was a key component in his decision to sign a new five-year contract during the summer. "After spending five minutes looking at the plans I was just completely blown away by it," he said. "It is amazing and the best thing about it is that it is so different to any other. We will have our own identity stamped all over this stadium and that is how it should be. As a supporter myself, I know what to look for in a stadium and I am sure all our fans are going to love it."