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6 months ago
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Newcastle United fans have been eagerly awaiting news on what is to happen in terms of having a far bigger capacity stadium.
Move to another location, or extend St James’ Park.
A new ‘exclusive’ from The Telegraph has now reported that the decision has been made.
With the Newcastle United owners deciding to go with…. an extended St James’ Park.
The Telegraph report saying (see below) that having carried out a feasibility study, adding to the current stadium was thought the best way forward.
Interesting to see now when/if something is officially announced, what exactly the plan will be, then just as importantly, what kind of timescale we will be looking at?
When the lease on the land opposite the Gallowgate End was purchased back when Sir John Hall was in charge, the plans drawn up at the time showed a 60,000+ capacity was possible.
With time and engineering ingenuity having moved on, hopefully the potential increased St James’ Park capacity could now be far higher than 60k. Not to mention the money to fund it.
Even this report admits that nothing is yet set in stone, so we can’t automatically take for granted that expanding St James’ Park will actually happen.
However, I am believing that The Telegraph have had some information come their way that confirms this is the way the Newcastle United owners are looking to go.
What I can’t believe though is that we are now 31 months on from the Newcastle United takeover (and indeed over five years since the consortium began making plans and trying to buy the football club) and only now a feasibility study has been carried out on the possibilities of expanding St James’ Park and/or the alternative locations.
I think long before the takeover even happened, the now Newcastle United owners will have ordered a feasibility study, BEFORE committing to buying the club. As surely this was always going to be a key thing if indeed there was any intention of trying to grow Newcastle United to its full potential.
The Telegraph report – 30 April 2024:
‘Newcastle United are set to move ahead with plans to expand St James’ Park after completing a feasibility study into what can be done to modernise their historical home.
Although there is much still to be worked through and the blueprints for the expansion are not likely to be made public anytime soon, Telegraph Sport can reveal that the club wish to proceed with building on the current site in the city centre.
An extensive, six-month feasibility study has been carried out, with architects offering a range of options to dramatically increase the capacity to more than 60,000, as well as modernise facilities inside the stadium.
However, before the multi-million pound redevelopment, which has been described as one of the most ambitious stadium rebuilds seen in this country, can begin, sources at Newcastle City Council have suggested Newcastle will want to discuss the length of their leasehold on St James’ Park.
The lease currently has 70 years to run, but before investing hundreds of millions of pounds in the project, the club understandably wants to extend it.
Those talks with the council will be delicate and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, who have a majority stake of 80 per cent in the club and will bankroll the project if it gets the green light, will want to ensure they have long term security on their investment.
There were two potential alternative sites under consideration. The first, on the banks of the River Tyne on the site of the Metro Radio Arena, has since been purchased for redevelopment as housing. The second idea was to completely rebuild St James’ Park on Leazes Park next to the existing stadium.
The idea now is to create a large, modern, multi-purpose venue that, as well as giving the football club one of the most spectacular and innovative stadiums in the country to play in, can also be used to host concerts and other sporting events.
Despite the completion of the feasibility study, building work is not expected to start before the end of the year and it is unclear when it will begin as the funding for the project still needs to be discussed with the relevant stakeholders.
Slim possibility move could be revived
There also remains a slim possibility that PIF could decide to move to a new site if they cannot reach an agreement on the leasehold. But the overwhelming preference is to remain at St James’ Park and the feasibility study has shown their ambitious plans can be fulfilled without relocating.’

 
