Anfield's Main Stand opened in 1906 with a capacity of 20,000, making it Britain's largest single-tier football stand at the time.
The ground predates the club itself — Everton played here first, vacating in 1892 after a rent dispute with landlord John Houlding, who then founded Liverpool Football Club three months later. That schism gave birth to one of English football's fiercest rivalries and anchored a stadium that would witness five European Cup triumphs.
Today the Liverpool Stadium Tour and Museum offers access to zones typically reserved for players and staff. The players' tunnel retains its narrow Victorian proportions, unchanged since Bill Shankly walked it in 1959. Visitors enter the dressing room where Jürgen Klopp delivered his final team talk in 2024, then emerge pitchside beneath the Kop's 12,850-seat cantilevered stand, built in 1994 to replace the original terracing that held 28,000 standing fans. The museum occupies two floors of the Main Stand, displaying six European Cups, three UEFA Cups, and nineteen league championship shields. Exhibits include Steven Gerrard's 2005 Champions League final shirt, Bob Paisley's three European Cup winner's medals from 1977 to 1981, and match-worn boots from Kenny Dalglish's 172-goal Liverpool career.
Anfield's museum chronicles tactical evolution alongside trophies. Glass cases hold Shankly's handwritten training notes from 1964, formation diagrams from Joe Fagan's treble-winning 1983-84 season, and Rafa Benítez's scouting reports on AC Milan ahead of Istanbul. Interactive stations allow visitors to commentate on historic goals, test reaction speeds against penalty saves, and explore the club's pre-war origins in Anfield's original 1884 footprint. The trophy room arranges silverware chronologically, illustrating the Paisley dynasty's dominance — nine league titles in eleven seasons — and the 30-year wait between championships from 1990 to 2020. Anfield stadium tours grant entry to the press conference room where managers face post-match interrogation, the home dugout, and the directors' box in the refurbished Main Stand, completed in 2016 at a cost of £115 million and raising capacity to 54,074. Visitors booking legend encounters meet former players in the players' lounge, a space normally closed to the public except on matchdays.
1 hr 30 min
