Hicks admits to hike in stadium cost

Hicks and fellow American George Gillett took over in March and have since revamped plans for a new ground and hope to get Liverpool City Council's approval at a meeting on November 5.

Originally the stadium, expected to open in August 2011, was expected to cost around £250m but Hicks conceded figures have had to be revised radically and that they had risen to "at least £400m".

New funds will be acquired shortly for a stadium that, while initially holding 60,000 fans, will be designed to accommodate an additional 10,000 whenever permission can be secured.

"Our fans are wonderful and over time we'll be able to give them the amenities, comfort and ease of getting tickets they have never had before," said Hicks, who was attending a global sports industry forum in London ahead of Sunday's NFL game between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins.

But he and fellow co-owner George Gillett had no intention, Hicks said, of cashing in on any future revenues.

"People get involved in sport mainly because they have a passion rather than for the money," he said.

"There are far better investments I could make than buying a football team."

The multi-millionaire Hicks was also at pains to lend support to Rafael Benitez following Liverpool's 2-1 defeat by Besiktas which left the Merseysiders bottom of their Champions League group and in danger of missing out on the knockout stages.

"This squad should be winning," said Hicks. "Otherwise, we will have to look at the circumstances and have a meeting at the end of year to try to understand what happened. But I prefer to be optimistic. You don't give Rafa guidance because no one wants to win more than him."