Stadium plans go before planners

Tom Hicks says he is excited about the new stadium plans

Liverpool Football Club's plans for a new stadium are set to go before the city council's planning committee.

The projected cost of building the Stanley Park stadium is thought to have risen to about £400m.

It will have a capacity of 60,000 - 15,000 more than Anfield - but that could increase to 75,000 in the future.

One of the club's American owners, Tom Hicks, said he was "excited" by the plans, which will give the club amenities it has never had.

Mr Hicks and co-owner George Gillett took over when plans for the stadium were well advanced and wanted to satisfy themselves that it was right for the club and the fans.

Community windfall

About £5m of European money had been set aside for a new community partnership centre at the stadium.

But delays to the work means the money cannot be used by the December 2008 deadline.

Instead, the football club is going to meet the cost of building the centre and the money will be ploughed back into the community.

Mr Hicks said he thought the stadium would give fans "amenities, comfort and ease of getting tickets they have never had before".