How Livepool's stadium affects Anfield

Anfield’s local community has become increasingly fluid in the era of Airbnb. It is difficult to tell how many homes are being rented out like this, because Airbnb is notoriously protective of its data and did not respond to The Athletic’s request for information about its footprint.

On the face of it, parts of Anfield — a traditional working-class neighbourhood, which just happened to have a world-famous football ground in it — have never looked smarter,  Yet there are also unintended consequences which are not quite as positive because there are now many properties where no one lives permanently, having been bought up by groups or individuals with little or no connection to the area.

According to the 2021 Census, the Anfield ward has a population of 14,730, but four times as many people now visit around 30 times a season for matches, and through the summer after Liverpool FC were given permission to host concerts.

Labour MP Ian Byrne is a long time resident of Anfield and believes the developing situation is symptomatic of what has happened to Anfield since he first arrived, with the district's economy pivoting towards what happens at the stadium. At first, it was the pubs, chip shops and bookmakers defining opening hours mainly around Liverpool matches. “Now that culture is extending to housing,” Byrne says.

Byrne thinks the success and growth of Liverpool FC have come at the cost of residents over time. He wonders whether residents might react as those have in Barcelona, where local unhappiness at the proliferation of Airbnb properties played a part in the Spanish government telling the company in May that it must remove 65,000 property listings in the country for breaching regulations. 

Everton want to help stimulate the regeneration of Vauxhall — the largely dilapidated dockland area of the city where their new stadium is based — but with only a few drinking options by the ground, pubs in Liverpool’s business district have benefited the most from their relocation. An area that was once subdued at weekends has been brought alive by the presence of a club that is now only a short-ish walk away. 

Ultimately, the tide feels hard to reverse. Liverpool are a commercial behemoth that just keeps on growing, even if Anfield is probably at its limit in terms of capacity. Everton are some way behind but will hope to close the gap courtesy of their new dockside home. Their combined pulling power has unquestionably helped build Liverpool's brand as a city, and helped deliver the kind of commercial growth that inspires jobs, prosperity and in theory regeneration.

A fan made a balanced comment: ‘I start from the position that the football clubs are good for the city. After The Beatles, they do most to sell the city on a global level and bring loads of people here spending money in the local economy. The Airbnb thing comes with tourism and brings a cost.

 It does need to be be better regulated to prevent too many in one area and properly taxed to ensure that the increased costs to the communities involved are paid for. Although I'm a Liverpool fan, I do think Everton deserve credit for moving, rather than buying up houses etc in order to expand. It's a shame for local businesses, but they've known for years it's happening and opens up opportunities elsewhere in the city.’