Liverpool have been forced to delay plans for an expanded Anfield Road End.
Work on the £60 million extension to the Premier League leaders’ stadium was originally scheduled to begin at the end of the current calendar year.
However the coronavirus pandemic means that the Reds’ timeline for delivering the 16,000-seater stand will be extended by a further 12 months.
Anfield chiefs had forecast a completion date of summer 2022 but have now revised that date to the beginning of the 2023/24 football season.
Andy Hughes, Liverpool’s chief operating officer, said: “We have experienced a number of delays to the planned project as a direct result of the Covid-19 lockdown.
“Given the challenges that many sectors are facing, including the construction, procurement and public sectors, we are taking a responsible approach to pause the project for at least 12 months.
“The complex build programme for Anfield Road is an 18-month process and needs two clear summer closed-season windows in order for it to be successful.
“This is why we are pausing on the project for at least 12 months so the earliest we could complete is summer 2023 rather than summer 2022 as originally planned.
“Given the planning application is no longer time critical, it is our intention to submit our planning application at some stage during the next 12 months.”