Opinion
The Newcastle United owners could be set to build a brand new stadium in Gosforth, that is if you believe what is in the media.
It is of course the hot topic at the moment.
Where will Newcastle United be playing their matches in the future?
Will/can St James’ Park be expanded to deliver what both the Newcastle United owners and fans want?
Or will it be a brand new stadium on another site?
Which then brings us to Gosforth.
As so often happens, it is very difficult to trace who originally put out this possibility of the Newcastle United owners relocating to a new stadium out at Gorforth.
That story then copied and copied, added to by other media, so you haven’t a clue where it has started from.
Whatever the case, I think this idea of the Newcastle United owners building a new stadium in Gosforth is a total red herring.
It is something that just wouldn’t, indeed couldn’t, happen.
I am not even talking about whether Newcastle United fans would accept an out of town stadium.
It is simply, in my opinion, impossible due to the logistics.
Obviously the whole idea of having a brand new stadium, would be so that it could hold a lot more fans than would be possible at St James’ Park.
So say 70,000 to 80,000 for the sake of this argument/article.
Imagine 70,000+ fans getting to a stadium in Gosforth?
The big connection and I think the real driving force behind these claims of a new stadium in that area, is journalists and fans putting two and two together and getting Gosforth Racecourse.
There is loads of land on and around the racecourse, which is owned by the Reuben Brothers, who also own 15% of Newcastle United.
For those who don’t know the area, driving up from Newcastle city centre is a nightmare to try and get through Gosforth high street and that is on any random week day, any time of the day. School run time? Forget it.
As for 80,000 Newcastle United fans getting through there….
Of course there are other routes but the logistics of getting those kind of numbers to a new stadium built around that Gosforth Racecourse site is beyond comprehension.
People will say, look at the massive crowds they get for Northumberland Plate day.
Well, anybody who has gone on the biggest raceday of the year at Gosforth, will know just what a nightmare it is getting there and back.
I have looked online and the ‘massive crowds’ that go on Plate day are capped at 25,000 maximum it appears.
The thought of three times that number is just fantasy football (stadium building).
You might as well take a tent with you can camp out at the Racecourse to wait for the next Newcastle United home match!
The nearest Metro stations to the Racecourse are Regent Centre and Four Lane Ends, both of them at least two miles away.
To get 70,000-80,000 Newcastle United fans up to the area of around the Racecourse, is just an impossibility by car and bus etc, plus the limited help the closest Metro stations would be.
For the Newcastle United owners to build a brand new massive stadium up in Gosforth is just a laughable idea, you would need astronomical spending on the transport infrastructure for starters. It is just a massive no no.
The same really I think with any other claim of a possible out of town location, such as Kingston Park, where the Women’s team play at the Rugby ground. The thought of getting 70,000+ Newcastle fans to that kind of location, is bizarre.
As Newcastle United fans, we all want any new (hopefully 80,000+) stadium to be within walking distance of the city centre.
The good thing for me is that when it comes to the logistics of getting so many fans to a new stadium, that also means it has to be within walking distance of city centre pubs, clubs, cafes, restaurants etc.
The transport infrastructure is already there, mainline train station in the city centre, all the Metros and buses head into there from every direction. You can even walk over from the Gateshead side, via the bridges.
I am sure that the Newcastle United owners decided on what they were going to do a long long time ago, when it comes to stadium plans.
They now just need to tell us what they are and then crack on with it.