LFC Women new innings at St Helens Stadium

Article posted by Coliseum, May 10^th, 2024

Image: Liverpool FC

The Premier League team Liverpool F.C. (UK) has confirmed the next exciting milestone in the ongoing growth of its women’s first team – the Liverpool F.C. Women – with an agreement reached for a groundbreaking new home stadium from the next season.

‘liverpoolfc.com’ stated that the LFC Women will play their home games at the St Helens Stadium in Merseyside (UK) from the start of 2024-2025 seasons (which is all set to start from August 17^th, 2024 and will conclude on May 25^th, 2025). The club’s ambition is to also play a number of fixtures at the Liverpool F.C. home ground – the Anfield in Liverpool, England.

The Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England (UK). The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has played its home games at the Anfield since its formation.

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The Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, England (UK), which has a seating capacity of 60,725 making it the fifth largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of the Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892.

The Liverpool Football Club commonly referred to as Liverpool or Liverpool Football Club Women if distinguishing themselves from the men’s team, is a professional English women’s football team based in Liverpool, Merseyside, England (UK). They have served as the official women’s division of Liverpool F.C. since 1994. They play in the Women’s Super League, the highest league of women’s football in England. They currently play their home matches at the Prenton Park in Tranmere (Birkenhead, UK), which has a capacity of 16,587. They also play some games at Anfield.

The St Helens Stadium, also known as the Totally Wicked Stadium, is a modern, 18,000-capacity stadium in St Helens, Merseyside, England (UK). It is home to the St Helens R.F.C. rugby league team, which was formed in 1873. The stadium opened in February 2012 and is located on a former glassworks site on the edge of the St Helens Town Centre.

‘liverpoolfc.com’ further stated that the new home is a huge positive step forward in the progress of the women’s side, with a brand-new, high-performance Premier League-standard pitch (a standard Premier League football pitch is 115 yards [105 meters] long by 74 yards [68 meters] wide. being laid), enhanced and exclusive-use player facilities and an improved matchday experience for the supporters.

The stadium will continue to be the home and property of St. Helens R.F.C., with its men’s and women’s rugby league teams also benefiting from the pitch upgrade. With the rugby league season running from February through to September, the LFC Women will have sole occupancy of the stadium for almost half of the season.

The team will also enjoy having their own bespoke dressing room for the first time, and the red stadium will be revamped for the home games to make it look and feel part of the LFC family, including the addition of the club crest and other significant branding.

The St Helens Stadium was chosen as part of a wider review of stadium options with the Prenton Park agreement coming to an end this season. The decision was made in consultation with the players, the staff, the fans via the club’s Supporters Board, and fan surveys.

The new 10-year lease at St Helens demonstrates the club’s long-term commitment to its women’s team and the club’s ongoing desire to provide the players and the staff with the best facilities possible, fulfilling the ambitions for the LFC Women and supporting its continued growth.

The club was keen to ensure the facilities provided for the women’s team on a matchday are the best possible for the players and also to provide a great experience for its growing supporter base.

This move enables the club to deliver an improved matchday experience, not only around the ground but inside with the covered concourses, so fans can expect to see an enhanced offering – from music, face painting, food and drinks through to kids’ kickabouts, and lots more. There will also be an enhanced food and drinks offering for the fans as well as an opportunity to improve the retail provision for the match goers.

The move to the St Helens Stadium follows the significant investment in the acquisition and redevelopment of the AXA Melwood Training Centre in England, making it one of the best women’s training facilities in the Barclays Women’s Super League. There is also continued investment in the squad, backroom and wider infrastructure of the women’s first team and the Pro Game Academy.

London (UK)-based the Women’s Super League, also known as the Barclays Women’s Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women’s football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by The Football Association and features 12 fully professional teams.

London (UK)-based The Football Association is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the amateur and professional game in its territory.

Stated Susan Black, LFC’s Director of Communications and Liverpool F.C. Women Executive Director, “This is another step forward for our women’s first team and we’re so excited to relocate to a new long-term home. Our players and the incredible supporters were at the forefront of our decision-making process. We are confident St Helens will be a great matchday home and will look and feel part of the Liverpool family. We would like to place on record our great thanks to Mark Palios (Executive Chairman of Tranmere Rovers) and the wider team at Tranmere Rovers F.C. (EFL League Two team) for their great support over six seasons at the Prenton Park (Tranmere Rovers home ground) on a matchday and of course at The Campus (the training facility for Tranmere Rovers).”

Added Black, “As Founding Members of the Women’s Super League, we want to continue the work we’ve put in place and continue to progress in the league both on and off the pitch. Our next chapter for our women’s first team is about building solid foundation stones and today’s (May 3rd) matchday venue announcement is another positive step forward on our journey.”

Maintained Matt Beard, LFC Women Manager, “This is the exciting next chapter on our journey, and I’m absolutely delighted with this investment from the club. At the heart of this move are the two most important groups at the club: The players and the fans. The players will have a wonderful new pitch and facilities to enjoy, while the matchday experience for the supporters will be so much improved. We’ve built up a loyal following at the Prenton Park and we look forward to welcoming them to St Helens along with hopefully opening up the women’s game to many new supporters as well.”

Eamonn McManus, Chairman of St. Helens R.F.C., welcomed the LFC Women to their home ground, stating, “We are delighted to welcome the LFC Women and their supporters to our stadium for their home games starting next season. The arrangement will provide the St. Helens R.F.C. with a new state-of-the-art pitch, as well as additional income streams for our club. The Liverpool F.C. is a world-renowned football club and sporting institution and the LFC Women is a leading participant in the rapidly growing Women’s Super League. It is high-profile recognition that our stadium and its facilities meet the ever-increasing requirements of this prestigious competition.”

The St Helens R.F.C. is a professional rugby league club in St Helens, Merseyside, England. They play their home games at the Totally Wicked Stadium and currently compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league.

Added David Hutchinson, General Manager of St Helens R.F.C., “We are very proud to have secured this partnership with the Liverpool F.C. Women at a time when women’s sport is at a pivotal stage in its growth and development. This comes at a time when participation, media exposure and commercial awareness for women’s football and rugby are at an all-time high. Hosting the Liverpool F.C. Women will increase visitors to the stadium and offer up fantastic crossover opportunities for both our sports. We are very excited to get things under way and thank everyone involved for their hard work in achieving this.”

All season ticket holders have been informed of the new venue and will be contacted in the coming weeks about renewing for the next season. For new enquiries on the season tickets for 2024-2025, please register your interest here.

The LFC Foundation will also be expanding its reach and will look to launch projects specifically for the St Helens area (Merseyside) to support girls in sport with more funding for the community projects.

England (UK)-based the LFC Foundation is the official charity of the Liverpool F.C., established in 2002. The foundation’s mission is to create life-changing opportunities for the young people and the families in the Liverpool City Region and beyond. The foundation works with its partners in areas of high need and deprivation, with almost two- thirds of their participants located in the top 20 percent most deprived Wards in the United Kingdom.

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