FanHouse

If Liverpool supporters were upset with American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett before, they'll be furious now.

Hicks and Gillett managed to secure their £350 million refinancing deal with Royal Bank of Scotland last Friday, which will allow them to begin building a new 71,000-seat stadium at Stanley Park. Anfield currently holds about 45,000. However, according to the Telegraph of London, Hicks has admitted that the club will have to service the entire debt -- including a whopping £30 million in annual interest payments. So much for spending another £20 million on the next Fernando Torres.

Hicks and Gillett are gambling that a new stadium will make them filthy rich, just like Emirates Stadium did for Arsenal. Financing for that stadium, however, didn't require risking the entire club's future. What happens if Liverpool fails to qualify for the Champions League? That's £25 million in annual TV revenue that disappears. Ask Leeds United what happens when a club borrows on future Champions League success that never materializes.

Liverpool fans can already expect ticket prices to jump next season, just as they did at Manchester United when the Glazers financed that club. They'll jump even higher if the Reds stumble on the pitch. The money has to come from somewhere, right?

(H/T: Pitch Invasion. Check out Tom Dunmore's excellent piece on why leveraged takeovers are bad for clubs.)
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