London, April 24 (IANS): English football league leaders Liverpool have unveiled a 150 million pound scheme to rebuild their home stadium, Anfield.

According to the plan unveiled Wednesday night, the stadium capacity will increase from around 45,000 to 60,000, reports Xinhua.

The boost for the club comes as their success in the top flight this season has guaranteed a place in the world's greatest club contest next season, the European Champions League.

The plan brings to an end the uncertainty that has affected the community around the Anfield stadium for many years.

At one time the club earmarked a site in nearby Stanley Park for an all-new stadium, costing well over 500 million pounds. But that was abandoned in the wake of the global recession.

The new scheme will see the main stand being rebuilt, with seating increased from 8,500 to 21,000. The Anfield Road Stand, traditional home for visiting fans, will also be expanded.

Once formal planning consents are in place the club aims to start work next year on the new Main Stand, with it opening at the start of the 2016-17 season. Work on the Anfield Road stand would then start.

The club's re-entry into mainstream European football next season is expected to have a major impact on Liverpool FC across the world, especially in China where they already have a growing fan base.

People living around the stadium will be asked for their views in the coming weeks, but early indications are the club's plans will be voted a winner.

Many LFC fans will also be delighted the club is remaining in their historic home rather than move to a new site elsewhere.

The new Main Stand will include a huge outside pedestrian area and will also become the new home to the Hillsborough Memorial which marks the 1989 tragedy in which 96 fans died in what was the UK's worst ever football disaster.

Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson welcomed the proposal and said Liverpool's plans were an integral part of a massive 260-million-pound regeneration scheme for the Anfield area of the city.