LIVERPOOL, England – Liverpool has announced another delay to building a replacement for Anfield stadium, blaming global market conditions.

Although work has started on the project, which Liverpool hopes will open in 2011 and eventually seat 73,000 fans, the club issued a statement on Friday saying construction will be delayed “in the short term.”

The announcement will further fuel speculation that the club is having cash-flow problems.

Feuding owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. have had to refinance the loans they took out to buy the five-time European Cup winner with interest payments reported to be around 30 million pounds (US$54.9 million; euro37.2 million) a year.

But the club statement said that the stadium project was not in any danger.

“Our commitment to building a new world-class LFC stadium is undiminished,” the statement read. “Like many other major development projects in the UK and overseas we are affected by global market conditions and as such work on the project will be delayed in the short term.

“We will use this period productively and revisit the plans for the stadium to increase its capacity to 73,000 seats.”

Back in January, the club had to announce revised plans for the construction because of rising costs relating to the original design in 2007.

Liverpool, a record 18-time English champion, is moving from the 115-year-old Anfield Stadium, which seats 45,300, to the new venue in the adjacent Stanley Park. The project is expected to cost more than 400 million pounds (US$732 million; euro496 million).