Newcastle United hope to reach a “decision stage” in their long-term stadium plans by “early” next year after completing the first phase of their feasibility study into expanding St James’ Park.
The club commissioned an in-depth report into the possibilities of extending the present ground — which is the preferred option of many inside the club, including Eddie Howe, the head coach — and alternative sites for a new purpose-built stadium have also been explored.
While no final decision has been reached, Newcastle insist they are “several steps forward” in understanding what is deliverable and, although there are opportunities associated with staying at St James’, there are also “several risks”.
Darren Eales, the outgoing CEO, confirmed in July that the findings from the report were “imminent”. Brad Miller, the chief operating officer, has revealed that the first phase of the study is complete, but now an analysis phase is taking place before any decision is reached.
Miller delivered a detailed presentation on the study’s findings to members of Newcastle’s nine-person Fan Advisory Board (FAB) during an online meeting on Monday. The FAB provided feedback and will continue to do so throughout the process.
Miller said: “This is an exciting but extremely complex project, and I’d like to thank supporters for their patience as we conduct this key phase of the feasibility process. We aren’t quite at a decision-making stage yet, but we are targeting the early part of 2025 to complete the next essential tasks.
“We know what a transformed St James’ Park would give us and we now have a significant amount of data and feedback on our stadium footprint and surrounding area, so we are several steps forward. But it is also clear that this option has several risks associated with it, so we need to fully analyse those risks against the opportunities to reach truly informed and intelligent outcomes.
“Part of the process is also to understand alternative options so that we see the bigger picture and, again, find the right balance between risk and opportunity. This is a once-in-a-generation investment, so we don’t want to look back in years to come, as a club or as a city, and regret an opportunity missed. All this requires a robust process that leaves no stone unturned.”
Expanding St James’ Park’s capacity beyond its present 52,300 is expected to cost hundreds of millions. The East Stand has listed buildings directly behind it on Leazes Terrace, while the Gallowgate End also backs on to Strawberry Place, a through-road, and has an underground line below it.
But Newcastle recognise that there is a keen demand for tickets, plus increased matchday revenue would significantly aid their position when it comes to the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR), and so merely continuing with the present capacity is not an option.
“We are challenging our appointed design team, and ourselves, to make sure our eventual chosen route delivers a fantastic fan experience — one that represents the fans, city, region and club, and aligns with the long-term ambitions of our ownership group,” Miller said.
“But it must provide an investable return, and not least deliver strong revenue growth to increase our PSR headroom, which, as everyone knows, means we can invest more in football.”
Supporters wait for stadium fate continues
This is not the conclusive update supporters keenly desire — fans are desperate to know whether Newcastle will remain at St James’ Park or be forced to move elsewhere in search of greater capacity — and it does not confirm potential costings or whether Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the club’s 85 per cent majority owners, will provide the funding to deliver it.
However, the reality is that Newcastle are just not yet ready to confirm their plans. Expanding St James’ Park is extremely tricky and will be very expensive, given most of the stadium needs updating, so understandably the key decision-makers want to have as much information as possible before committing to the rebuild.
While Miller has been careful to stress that all options, including relocation, remain possible, the implication from his tone is that a significant renovation of St James’ Park is the likely direction of travel.
This process has been ongoing for more than a year already but, theoretically, a decision is set to be reached in 2025. Then, finally, supporters will know the fate of St James’ Park.
(Top image: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
