Newcastle's owners are taking a very cautious and deliberate course of action around St James' Park
A park bandstand and trees, with a large football stadium in the background
Leazes Park in Newcastle, with Newcastle United's St James' Park stadium behind
View 2 Images
Newcastle United will see the perils of getting a new stadium decision wrong when they travel to London this weekend.
The Magpies are weighing up whether to extend St James' Park or move to a new purpose-built arena. Leazes Park has been identified as a preferred spot should they choose the latter.
An update on whether Newcastle stay or leave St James' was expected in "early 2025" but Toon chiefs insist that extra time and care in making the correct decision is required. The two options on the table are increasing the capacity of St James' to around 65,000 - with a new Gallowgate End the main feature - or moving to a new 70,000-capacity stadium.
A host of clubs have moved to new stadiums in the last 20 years as they look to increase the number of fans able to watch their team play, and increase revenues with FFP a huge issue. Everton are the latest, with Newcastle set to visit the Hill-Dickinson Arena at the end of the month.
West Ham, meanwhile, controversially moved into their new home in 2016. The venue, which hosted the London 2012 Olympic Games, has been criticised by fans, however, for the atmosphere and feel in what was originally an athletics stadium. Residual anger from the controversial move from Upton Park to Stratford in 2016 has given way to frequent protests inside and outside the stadium.
General view outside the London Stadium
General view outside the London Stadium(Image: Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
View 2 Images
The mood hasn't been helped by concerns among the fanbase around the Hammers' ownership, either. Many supporters have been rallying against majority shareholder David Sullivan, demanding he sells the club.
There have been further calls for West Ham to actually move out of the London Stadium and into another purpose-built venue, although with the ownership confirming a 99-year lease on the stadium in 2013, any plans for a new home may prove tricky.
It's no wonder that Newcastle owners PIF are making sure they take their time and get the right decision over their home ground. Chief operating officer Brad Miller - tasked with leading the project - recently told the Fan Advisory Board that they would continue to discuss the challenges and options.
He said: "The Board continues to assess all stadium development options and has not yet reached a final decision. This remains a complex and long-term strategic consideration, with potential benefits for the club, city and wider region.
"The priority is to ensure any decision is the right one - both in terms of feasibility and long-term impact."
Newcastle don't want to rush into something that may not be right in the long term for the club and the city. Discussions remain ongoing with council leaders and other stakeholders over the project.
Their trip to West Ham this week will showcase the perils of getting it wrong. Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan has had to get involved in the latest furore, indicating he would not have an issue with West Ham United vacating the London Stadium if prospective new owners tabled plans for a move away.
West Ham cannot make significant changes to the structure of the London Stadium without owning it, and no deal to take full control of the venue is in the offing. Fans have been left feeling envious of the likes of Everton and rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who have built grounds more suited to football in recent times.
Khan told football.london: "The London Stadium is a fantastic asset to our great city, in terms of not just the football that takes place there, but the things that take place in other periods, whether it's athletics, whether it's concerts, whether it's baseball and so forth.
"I've been hearing about new owners of West Ham for the last nine years since I've been mayor, let's wait and see if it materialises. But I know from speaking to friends who are West Ham fans, they've had a great experience at the London Stadium.
"These stadiums are fantastic ways for fans getting to watch the team they love. Some stadiums, frankly speaking, the fans, whether it's the poor form of the team or the way the stadium's been built, not all fans love. But we'll speak to the new owners if there are new owners, if and when that occurs.
"The London Stadium is a gorgeous stadium, and so, hypothetically speaking, if in the future West Ham wanted to vacate that stadium, I'm sure we'd have lots of other uses for it."
West Ham are currently 19th in the Premier League having only collected four points from a possible 27, ahead of Newcastle's visit on Sunday. The atmosphere became particularly fractious in the recent 2-0 home defeat to Brentford, which saw fans boo the team, jeer the owners and leave on masse before the final whistle.
Another protest is planned for after the last kick of Sunday's game, with a sit-in being organised inside the ground.