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Liverpool to downgrade stadium plans

English Premier League club Liverpool said that plans for its new stadium in Stanley Park will be downgraded.

Chief executive Rick Parry said that spiralling costs had forced the club to curtail their plans for the futuristic stadium announced in July. Parry said that two new schemes were being considered, but reassured fans that “the stadium will be a 70,000-seater”.

"It will be a massive improvement on where we were 12 months ago, if not quite as dramatic as the plans unveiled in the summer, “ said Parry.

"The single-tier Kop remains fundamental to the design and we are not expecting any delays, it should be on schedule for 2011".

Liverpool were given the green light for a revised version of the original £400 million plan by city authorities in November, with work scheduled to start early next year.