General view outside Anfield prior to a Premier League match
General view outside Anfield prior to a Premier League match
Liverpool are preparing for the new season as defending champions with an overhaul of Arne Slot's squad. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Caoimhin Kelleher have departed with Jeremie Frimpong recruited for £29million from Bayer Leverkusen and Florian Wirtz set to follow in a deal worth £116m.
And with Milos Kerkez also expected to move to Anfield and a striker eyed, Liverpool's aggressive approach to the transfer window continues.
Owners Fenway Sports Group are funding the overhaul in the hope of keeping Liverpool at the pinnacle of English football for the foreseeable future, and they have seen another area of the club in which they have invested pay dividends after the success of events at Anfield.
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Indeed, the American group has spent roughly over £200m expanding the ground and modernising it, with concerts such as Bruce Springsteen and Dua Lipa taking place this summer.
But, with Everton joining Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in launching a tunnel club, what is the next step for Anfield? Our writers have their say:
Paul Gorst
While some clubs have taken on the tunnel club idea as a means of additional match-day revenue, a venue like Anfield just wouldn't suit such a gimmick. Instead, those tasked with such things have to find other, more resourceful ways of bringing in additional income to the coffers.
Having spent the thick end of £200m to turn Anfield into a venue that is as close to a 365-day-a-year operation as possible, the iconic home of the Reds goes far beyond football these days. The opening of its doors for music fans across the globe has been a wildly successful venture and after arranging a six-event-per-year agreement with Liverpool City Council, is there a way to potentially expand that deal?
A report by Turley Economics last year revealed how the local economy has been boosted to the tune of £31.3m by the summer gigs that take place now, while thousands of jobs have been created in the process. That figure will swell further given this year's list of huge names that have included Bruce Springsteen.
Having seen how much the wider city region benefits from these June shows, surely there's a case top increase that further? It's not just the football club that stands to benefit.
Ian Doyle
Part of the reason Liverpool were left behind during the early Premier League era was their reluctance to embrace the ever-growing commercial aspect of the new-fangled enterprise. It took them a few decades and several changes in ownership to finally catch up.
That Anfield is now a fully-fledged event venue capable of attracting music superstars of various ages ranging from Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift to Elton John and, most recently, Bruce Springsteen. And what a memorable few days the latter gifted Merseyside.
There is never a truly tasteful way to talk about matters such as revenue and commercial growth given those who regularly attend the stadium are primarily concerned about the amount of times a ball of air is put into a net.
But Fenway Sports Group, despite their missteps, have usually called it right regards infrastructure and further developing Anfield. And more money does, even if not always directly, mean more can be spent of player recruitment.
However, changes should never be allowed to go as far as introducing a tunnel club, which would be greeted dimly by more than just those loyal fans who would be booted out of their seats. There's a line.
Instead, exploring the possibility of more concerts, improving the areas around the stadium and, in the much longer term, perhaps developing the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand could be the next steps.
Joe Rimmer
Anyone who was at Bruce Springsteen's show at Anfield a couple of weeks ago will know just how impressive a venue it now is for Merseyside to host some of the biggest names in music.
That sort of show becoming commonplace each summer for Liverpool speaks to just how rapid the improvement of the club's infrastructure has been under FSG.
Anfield is now a stadium up there with the very best in Europe - but it can get better.
Improvements to the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand, even if it's not an increase in capacity but just a modern revamp, would be ideal. The same goes for the Kop. The opening up of further fanzones, to allow supporters who travel to Anfield to spend even more time and, let's be honest, cash at the stadium, would also be effective.
It'd be nice to see Liverpool work with some of the independent businesses that have opened up around the Anfield area and are striving to improve he matchday experience, too.
And anyone turning their nose up at things like tunnel club should, well, get real. Things change quickly in football and it's up to owners like FSG to be open minded enough to embrace ideas that might seem off to traditionalists.
What works for others might not work for Liverpool, of course, but perhaps they can put their own spin on it. A balance is required but if supporters want their club to keep up on the pitch then agility is required off it. That means embracing change and being willing to take chances.