NEWCASTLE have always been a huge club in English football, but now they’re on a mission to become one of the biggest sides in Europe.
A massive nation state takeover, splashing cash on superstar players, returning to the Champions League, building fan parks and now reaching domestic cup finals in two of the last three seasons – they’re following the blueprint to a tee.
Newcastle are facing a dilemma on whether to expand their iconic ground or find a new home[/caption]
The iconic stadium currently boasts a capacity of 52,304[/caption]
Other than a first major trophy in 70 years, there’s just one thing missing for the Toon Army – a stadium fit for European elite.
St James’ Park is a historic ground in the heart of a true one-club city, but despite its rich history, electric atmosphere and iconic reputation, it has sat in place since the 1800s.
With that comes problems, not just with its capacity, but also with the stadium’s condition as a whole.
Newcastle’s owners know that things need to change and they are ready to take the necessary steps to do so.
However, they face a huge dilemma in deciding whether those steps mean a tricky renovation project or leaving their iconic stadium altogether.
ICONIC ST JAMES’ PARK
St James’ Park is actually one of the oldest football grounds in the country, holding its first recorded fixture in 1880 – 12 years prior to the formation of Newcastle United as a club.
The Magpies moved into the ground in 1892, calling it home for the last 133 YEARS.
The first major development of the stadium in 1899 saw its capacity taken to 30,000.
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But it was their first league title in 1905 that sparked the next major expansion, taking the stadium’s capacity up to some 60,000.
St James’ Park has effectively been built on year by year, seeing the addition of new stands, floodlights and extensions periodically as the ground grew with the club.
However, changes to laws around standing and seating meant their 60,000 capacity stadium suddenly held a comparatively measly 36,610 fans by the end of 1995.
That capacity wasn’t enough for a flying Newcastle side capturing the imagination of fans with Alan Shearer scoring goals for fun.
And a proposal was put forward by Chairman Sir John Hall to move the club into a new multi-million pound arena in the adjacent Leazes Park.
But after the plans were shut down by local objections and political pushback, the club were forced to look elsewhere to expand their capacity.
That led to a stunning £43MILLION expansion that saw the club build upwards on the Milburn Stand, Leazes End and the adjoining corner to take the capacity to the 52,304 it sits at today.
Completed in 2000, the expansion means that Newcastle have the eighth largest football stadium in England, and the seventh largest in the Premier League.
But seasons of frustration and underachieving saw so many of those seats left empty during the years under controversial owner Mike Ashley between 2007 and 2021.
That torrid spell saw Newcastle relegated to the Championship TWICE before Ashley was finally able to sell the club to the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund in 2021.
Now the stadium, which famously hangs over the city, is packed to the rafters every week as the Magpies excel under the management of Eddie Howe, reaching two Carabao Cup finals and returning to the Champions League for the first time since 2003 last season.
St James’ Park has been home to Newcastle for 133 years[/caption]
The stadium used to hold 60,000 fans[/caption]
St James’ has been changed over the years and saw its capacity fall after more seats were added[/caption]
The stadium looked different in 1995[/caption]
Even more expansions have seen the ground given its iconic look these days[/caption]
SO, WHY NOW?
Newcastle’s upturn in form under their new management and ownership is certainly one reason that things are ready for a change at St James’ Park.
Most fans will tell you that you can’t get your hands on a matchday ticket for love nor money at the moment, with everyone in the city wanting a glimpse of Howe’s high-flying Mags.
So an expansion or move to a larger ground simply makes sense. Both the demand and the funds are there to make it happen.
And crucially, a smaller, less-appealing ground means less matchday revenue, which in the age of PSR and FFP means cold hard cash that most modern owners don’t want to miss out on.
Although Newcastle currently have the Premier League’s seventh largest capacity, they will fall down to eighth next season following the opening of Everton’s new Bramley-Moore Docks stadium.
While they are going to lose even more ground on their rivals after Man City complete their ambitious expansion in 2026.
Not to mention the proposed plans for expansions at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium and the potential of Man Utd and Chelsea ditching Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge for new, even bigger, homes.
While for the owners, it’s not just about getting more bums on seats and making more matchday revenue.
Newcastle’s bigwigs are also looking to help the club’s reputation grow in European football, essentially opting for an “act the part, look the part” strategy.
That’s already been evidenced by their lucrative kit manufacturing deal with Adidas, and the way they have thrown their weight around in the transfer market by signing the likes of Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali.
A world-class stadium would help Newcastle fit in with the teams they’re trying to compete with – in a similar fashion to Tottenham’s £1BILLION move to their state-of-the-art ground from White Hart Lane.
Newcastle have made memories at St James’ over the years[/caption]
Club legends have made history on the pitch[/caption]
Now they are in a new era and looking to improve on what they have[/caption]
WHAT ARE THE CLUB PLANNING?
Well, there are two options for Newcastle when it comes to their stadium. It’s quite simple really – stay or go.
Staying would mean a huge redevelopment of the Gallowgate End, while leaving would mean building a brand new home elsewhere.
Both projects have different positives and negatives that need to be weighed up before a decision is made.
Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan flew in for crucial talks in recent weeks and the club provided a statement to update fans on their upcoming decision at the beginning of March.
Chief Commercial Officer Peter Silverstone confirmed an announcement is coming “soon” – and possibly hinting which way they have opted to go if the finances get the final say.
Silverstone said: “We’re at that point where we’re deciding is it best to renovate and re-invigorate St James’ Park or build a new stadium as these projects have shown and other clubs in the Premier League have done.
“That is a decision which will be made relatively soon. What’s clear is we need to satisfy that demand.
“Every week we have a very intense fanbase which is determined to come and watch Newcastle but can’t.
“A new venue could generate significantly higher revenue both on matchdays and beyond.”
Newcastle’s chief operating officer Brad Miller had previously insisted that the club’s first choice is to stay at St James’ Park.
That way they can retain their electric atmosphere, unusually sloped pitch and the fact they get to stick the away fans up in the Gods.
The ownership have only recently invested in a huge 3,000-capacity fan park next to the ground called St James’ STACK.
The fan zone is made up of shipping containers and offers fans a place to eat, drink, watch the game and listen to live music.
And a third, more unlikely, option was proposed to give the stadium a lick of paint and a makeover instead of moving permanently or increasing capacity.
Newcastle already opened up St James’ STACK[/caption]
The 3,000-person capacity fan park offers food, drink and live entertainment for fans[/caption]
OPTION 1
Club execs favour an expansion to the current ground over a move to a new permanent home, but adding even more seats to St James’ is a tricky task that won’t come cheap.
COO Miller has promised a “once-in-a-generation” investment into the redevelopment and that kind of cash will be needed to carry out what would be ambitious plans.
The idea would be to raise the capacity of the ground to around 60-65,000 – making it the Premier League’s second largest stadium behind Old Trafford.
That would be achieved by making the Gallowgate End into one of the largest single-tiered stands in Europe.
The stand, which currently holds 11,000 supporters, would be increased to rival Borussia Dortmund’s famous Yellow Wall – similarly to Tottenham’s South Stand.
Of course, not all of the additional 12,700 seats would be thrown into the Gallowgate, but the iconic stand would take the majority of the changes.
There’s still some issues that could make it difficult for Newcastle to pull this off, mainly a row of listed Georgian buildings behind the East Stand and a so-called “ransom strip” of land bought by a local businessman in spring 2024 that make any expansion on that side of the ground extremely tricky.
While surrounding roads that could be impacted offer essential access to one of the city’s main hospitals, the Royal Victoria Infirmary.
Some reports suggest the expansion could focus more on the Gallowgate alone and increase the stadium capacity to just 60,300 instead of 65,000 – leaving the stadium looking almost exactly the same as it does now.
The Gallowgate End would be given thousands of new seats in an expansion[/caption]
Newcastle would be hoping to recreate Borussia Dormund’s iconic Yellow Wall[/caption]
Tottenham aimed for a similar effect when they designed their South Stand[/caption]
OPTION 2
The second option for the Magpies is to build themselves a new home for a new era. It’s more expensive, but perhaps a more exciting option.
The idea of a new ground would mean that Newcastle could host around 70,000 fans, effectively increasing their capacity by almost 18,000 seats – that’s more than both Brentford and Bournemouth can fit in their entire stadiums at the moment.
As with their initial plans back in the 90s, the most likely place to move would be into the adjacent Leazes Park.
However, Newcastle are set to face legal hurdles and heavy resistance from members of the public who want to protect the Grade II listed park.
As a result their plans would see them use just a small section of the park with the rest of the new ground overlapping with St James’ current footprint – plus a new parkland would be created where the current pitch is situated.
That would mean Newcastle would be forced into finding a temporary home for the duration of the demolition and construction.
The club are thought to be against the idea of ground-sharing with rivals Sunderland, with a potential option to play some 120 MILES away at Murrayfield in Edinburgh suggested instead.
That would obviously cause issues for fans with the round trip for a “home” game likely to take over FIVE HOURS by car.
Other options would include playing at the nearby Riverside stadium, home of Middlesbrough.
It’s thought that there is another possible option to move into a new stadium five miles north of the current site Gosforth Park on land owned by the club’s minority shareholders, Reuben Brothers.
But St James’ Park’s iconic position looming over the centre of Newcastle is thought to make that idea a last resort.
Newcastle have already enlisted architects and design firms to look at the feasibility of building a new ground.
However, both club execs and the fan base are concerned over losing the rich history of St James’ Park in the process.
COO Miller said: “The brilliant thing about St James’ is it is in an iconic location, the atmosphere and competitive edge it gives the team on the pitch, and it has 52,000 seats already.
“But a new stadium doesn’t have that and we’d have to pay for all those seats again.”
As for the look of a new ground, reports suggest there is consideration over a “bubble wrap” design that would give St James’ a similar visual to Ligue 1 outfit Le Havre’s Stade Oceane.
While it could also have some incredible features as football club owners continue to push the boundaries of what is expected in a stadium these days.
Spurs added a Formula One Go Kart track under their ground, and even stuck a microbrewery making craft Beavertown Beer in their South East corner.
While Fulham have stuck a swimming pool in their new Riverside Stand and Real Madrid added a huge 360-degree screen around the Santiago Bernabeu.
It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Newcastle would follow in those footsteps and add some unbelievable features to their proposed ground.
At the very least, expect cutting edge technology, staggering design and high-end hospitality areas to host the elite.
As for what they leave behind, it’s been suggested that the site of the demolished St James’ would be replaced with new parkland.
Newcastle could move into the Leazes Park directly behind the ground[/caption]
Newcastle’s new ground could look similar to Le Havre’s Stade Oceane[/caption]
HOW MUCH WILL IT ALL COST?
Good things don’t come for free these days, and Newcastle will have to fork out a fortune no mater what option they choose.
A redevelopment of the Gallowgate has been mooted to cost anywhere up to £1BILLION, which is a crazy number in comparison to other expansion projects in recent times.
Liverpool spent just £80m on their Anfield Road Stand expansion in 2024, and Fulham spent £120m on their Riverside Stand.
But that kind of money may seem worth it when you learn that an entirely new stadium has been estimated at a cost of between £2BILLION and £3BILLION.
That would blow Tottenham’s £1bn 2019 project out of the water and make Newcastle the owners of the second most expensive stadium in the world, only lagging behind the LA Rams’ £4.8bn SoFi Stadium.
The LA Chargers’ SoFi Stadium is the most expensive stadium in the world[/caption]
TIMESCALE
So we know it’ll cost a fortune and we know it’s going to be complicated, but when will it be done?
Reports have suggested that the club would be targeting the 2031/32 season for a brand new stadium, but would likely see an expansion completed in five years instead of seven.
By comparison, Spurs took three years to build their new home and the FA spent four years constructing Wembley in the early 2000s.
Expansions are often much speedier, but it still took Liverpool over two-and-a-half years to complete their Anfield Road renovation.
A lengthy project could spoil Newcastle’s plans to be one of the host stadiums for the 2028 Euros, but it’s thought that the Magpies see the long-term financial benefits as enough to give up on that.
WILL IT BE WORTH IT?
Well that’s the multi-billion pound question, isn’t it?
Newcastle’s most recent reports show that the club made £40m in matchday revenue last season, figures that are way behind the likes of Arsenal (£128m), Man Utd (£127m), Liverpool (£111m) and Spurs (£103m).
An expansion to 65,000 seats at St James’ would be an increase in capacity of around 25 per cent, meaning a similar increase in Newcastle’s matchday revenue would take them up to a more impressive number of £50m.
The club reckon the figure could be as much as double at a new ground where Newcastle can add in more bars, food stalls and hospitality areas to increase their income.
But even the man in charge, COO Miller, explained that moving to a new stadium “has the potential to earn a lot more, both on matchdays and non-matchdays”.
Not only would more seats mean more revenue, but a world-class facility could mean Newcastle would be a more attractive prospect to host music concerts and performers to make money all year round.
Put simply, the outlay would be huge, but in the long term it could definitely be worth it for Newcastle.
More fans means more money[/caption]
