Newcastle United
(credit: Hasan Karim, Breaking Media)
Stefan Borson
Fri 29 November 2024 19:00, UK
Newcastle United’s owners need to ensure the new stadium project makes financial sense following suggestions it could cost up to $4billion (£3.2billion).
That is the view of finance expert Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider it’s hard to see how the Tyneside club can generate a return on an investment of that magnitude.
Newcastle are currently considering plans to either build a new stadium or expand St James’ Park, which has been their home since 1892.
Speaking to supporters at an event on 20 November, chief operating officer Brad Miller said (via ChronicleLive) the club could earn double their revenue if they were to move to a new stadium.
A new facility is expected to give Newcastle a capacity of more than 70,000, while a rebuild of St James’ Park would limit the number of spectators to around 65,000.
Newcastle fans won’t be able to pay for premium tickets
Borson revealed there won’t be many fans who are willing to pay a premium for matchday tickets to ensure the club can cash in on the extra revenue available from building a new stadium.
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He told Football Insider: “I did see this week that the discussion has been about a $4billion build cost for a new stadium for Newcastle, which is an extraordinary amount of money.
“From a PSR perspective, it can be excluded from the calculation because it’s seen as good spending.
“But you would still think even for Saudi Arabia and PIF, you would think they would want to see that it financially makes sense.
“It is quite hard to see how you could spend $4billion on a new stadium and get a return from it in Newcastle.
“A lot of that is just because of the number of fans that would be able to afford the expensive tickets.
“Clearly, you make revenue from a £20, £30 or £40 ticket, but the real cream is what you are able to charge in central London in particular.
“Fulham are charging £150 per seat for some of their tickets, but you just can’t do that at Newcastle.
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“You will just not have the number of people necessary to be spending £150 for a seat per game.
“I think a little bit of caution about some of these stories is required.”
In other news, Newcastle owners bankroll £35m injection – official documents reveal.
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