The Magpies take on Athletic Bilbao at St James' Park this Wednesday evening
Fans arriving at St James' Park
Fans arriving at St James' Park(Image: Simon Greener/Newcastle Chronicle)
View Image
The buzz is building in the city centre ahead of tonight's match which will see Newcastle United take on Athletic Bilbao at St James' Park. With the team, as reported, looking to claw back ground in the UEFA Champions League fixture following Sunday's loss to West Ham, fans will have fingers crossed for success against the Spanish team.
There will be road closures in place in Newcastle before the 8pm kick-off to ensure the safety of fans walking to the stadium and the city centre is expected to be extra busy. Athletic Bilbao supporters are set to gather in the Bigg Market around 5.45pm for the walk-up to the stadium and they will pass along Newgate Street, Percy Street, Leazes Park Road and Leazes Terrace before arriving at St James’ Park about 6.30pm.
Most city centre transport services will follow their normal routes but they will be held temporarily at the junction of Grainger Street and Bigg Market, as well as at the Blackett Street junction with Percy Street, to accommodate the walkers. And there will be lots of diversions and route changes, with services from Eldon Square bus station operating from alternate pick-up and drop-off points while the road closures are in place.
Those planning to travel into Newcastle are advised to leave plenty time for their journey. For further details of diversions and changes see Go North East's website here and Stagecoach's here and see below for a list of this Wednesday's match day road closures around St James' Park.
Road closures for Newcastle United v Athletic Bilbao match
The usual home match day road closures will be in place around St James’ Park, affecting Strawberry Lane; St James’ Street; Back St James’ Street; Leazes Terrace; Terrace Place; St Andrews Street; Leazes Park Road; Strawberry Place; Barrack Road and Gallowgate. The timings of the closures are included below:
Back St James’ Street - from two hours before kick-off until 30 minutes after the final whistle
Leazes Terrace - from two hours before kick-off until 30 minutes after the final whistle
Terrace Place (up to St James’ Street) - from two hours before kick-off until 30 minutes after the final whistle
Strawberry Place (from A189 Barrack Road to Strawberry Lane) - an hour and half before kick-off to 30 minutes after the final whistle
Barrack Road and Gallowgate (both directions between St James’ Boulevard and Stanhope Street - from final whistle for approximately 20 minutes
All other roads - as mentioned, from 60 minutes after kick-off and 30 minutes after final whistle
For expert analysis on Newcastle United check out our Everything is Black and White podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.
We also have a dedicated newsletter for What’s On news and reviews. It’s free and you can sign up to receive it here. It will keep you up to date with all the latest updates on food, drink, entertainment and events in and around the North East.