LIVERPOOL co-owner Tom Hicks was forced to abandon plans for a multi million dollar development in Dallas because of the credit crunch - sparking major concerns over his finances and ambitions for Anfield.

Hicks had been planning to build "Glorypark", a mixed used development in Dallas featuring retail, residential and office space due to open in March 2010 at a cost of £257m.

But early today the Texan released a statement confirming fears that his ambitious plans are not sustainable in the current market.

The move will inevitably increase fears that Hicks will not be able to put the funding in place to build a new stadium on Stanley Park for Liverpool, particularly with the UK currently enduring increasingly tough economic conditions which Bank of England chief Mervyn King has admitted could even turn into a recession.

Official Liverpool Supporters Club secretary Les Lawson told the ECHO today's developments will be of concern to all Reds fans.

He said: "When Hicks took over at Anfield he said a spade would go into the ground at Stanley Park within 60 days – 18 months on we are still waiting.

"Today's news from Dallas only adds to our concerns because if he can't afford to finance a cheaper development in the USA how could he afford to build a stadium here?

"It's not just the new stadium that is so worrying either. What about Rafa Benitez's transfer plans? How can they be funded?

"If the Americans can't finance the club and what it needs to get back to the top they should make way for someone who can."

Hicks explained the abandonment of his plans – which had already been delayed on two previous occasions – by telling the Dallas Morning News that: "We're in the most difficult credit crunch I've seen in the last 20 years."

He also released a statement saying: "Financing and construction of a proposed mixed use development between Rangers Ballpark and the new Cowboys stadium in Arlington has been put on hold because of 'extreme conditions' in the country's financial and retail markets."

Hicks added: "We have put an enormous amount of time and money into Glorypark. In the end, the dream can't become reality without the right financial package.

"We will pursue alternative funding options.

"When my family purchased the Rangers, we pledged to invest in a development around the Ballpark. We are committed to doing that, but we may have to re-examine what should be built and can be built if market conditions continue."

At the weekend, and despite his ongoing civil war with co-owner George Gillett, Hicks insisted work on Liverpool's new £300m stadium will get under way this autumn. But one leading city source told the ECHO this now seems highly unlikely.

He said: "If anything, it is now harder to get this kind of project off the ground in this country than it would be in the USA.

"For a start, interest rates in the UK are currently double what they are in the USA – they stand at 2.5% there compared to 5% here.

"That makes borrowing money much more expensive on this side of the Atlantic, particularly for large scale capital projects such as building a new stadium.

"Also, lenders are asking borrowers to put down substantially more in terms of equity than they were a year ago. That is one of the main reasons why borrowing has become more difficult.

"Finally, you also have to factor in the rising price of commodities which will inevitably have an impact on the cost of a new stadium."

A London based spokesman for Hicks today said of the situation at Anfield: “The stadium proceeds to plan.”