The Magpies can learn a lot of US stadia but the transition between leaving St James' Park and starting life elsewhere needs a clear plan
Lee Ryder at the MetLife Stadium for the World Cup game between Norway and Senegal
Lee Ryder at the MetLife Stadium for the World Cup game between Norway and Senegal
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I once travelled to New Jersey back in 2005 to see England beat Colombia 3-2 at the old Giants Stadium - so my visit back to Secaucus last night was a real trip down memory lane.
Venturing through the Lincoln Tunnel for the Norway vs Senegal clash, you could see how impressed the visiting supporters from both countries were by the set-up.
The Norway faithful have been fantastic here in the Big Apple. For Scotland fans in Boston, read Norway in New York. In the build-up to this one, the Scandinavian supporters managed to take over Times Square on Sunday, with thousands of them taking part in a huge Viking Row beneath the illustrious halcyon billboards - even making the main bulletin on Fox News!
My brief arriving at the MetLife was simple, to take a good look around the home of the New York Giants and New York Jets to see what we can learn from their stadium.
Back in 2005, my first ever visit to the States, a crowd of over 58,000 watched on as Michael Owen grabbed a hat-trick against the South American side on a boiling hot afternoon in this part of the world but it was a different ground to what is on Meadowlands today.
It was back in 1994 that the dream of visiting the venue began to unfold during the World Cup as Ray Houghton's super strike sank Italy and earned Jack Charlton's Republic of Ireland a 1-0 win. Only a couple of nights ago, I'd boarded a FIFA media bus and found myself rubbing shoulders with Houghton himself in a bit of a 'is this really happening?' moment.
The walk-up to the MetLife was also special as memories of that first trip to the US began flooding back, but this time the venue had a slick, newer look.
Lee Ryder at the MetLife Stadium for the World Cup game between Norway and Senegal
Lee Ryder at the MetLife Stadium for the World Cup game between Norway and Senegal(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
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MetLife Stadium is a bucket-list venue for many fans still. Only last summer, the FIFA World Club Cup showpiece unfolded here as Chelsea beat Paris St-Germain, before Oasis packed out the venue with 150,000 fans over two nights, rocking the place and thrilling fans.
One MetLife staff member tells me: "People still talk about Oasis fans coming here even now, they drank the place dry. We'll be expecting more of the same when England turn up at the weekend against Panama."
But the big takeaway from this visit to the States this time has been very much stadium-driven as Newcastle United continue to carefully consider options.
I've taken in the breathtaking AT&T Stadium, the Gillette Stadium in Boston, and now the MetLife, with an honourable mention for the Yankee Stadium for the baseball on Sunday afternoon - and all of them have offered plenty of food for thought.
Everywhere you go there is a feeling of 'what if?' from a Newcastle point of view. Catering options, areas to sit and talk before the game and the hospitality areas have been off the scale, it has to be said. If Newcastle do move, will they get the balance right between tradition and simply being another shiny new ground?
As Newcastle look to squeeze revenue and play catch-up in the Money League, it's worth noting that a beer costs $18 while a basic hot dog will hit you for $8.50!
That said, the surroundings aren't exactly grotty with family areas and indoor play parks at most US venues so you get what you pay for. All of it a far cry from the crumbling terraces of the 1980s and 90s!
We've heard a lot of suggestions since it became clear that PIF were keen to improve the facilities for Newcastle fans at home games. From renovating the current stadium and making the most of the St James' Park we all know and love to building a new ground on Leazes Park.
Renovating St James' means finding somewhere else to play, of course, and there has been a mild idea of playing elsewhere - Murrayfield, for example. But if Newcastle did get the green light for Leazes Park it would mean less disruption.
Newcastle could play out their final days at St James' as we know it while the new venue is built behind it and make the smooth transition to switch next door.
That would be the plan in the eyes of PIF but it still feels like there is work to be done and planning permission to be granted first.
They could certainly take a leaf out of the MetLife, though, with the 16-year-old venue a great example of what can be done. The Giants Stadium was bulldozed in 2010 and is now a car park after being torn down piece by piece, and the NFL side, along with the New York Jets, moved in seamlessly for the start of the next season.
Lee Ryder at the MetLife Stadium for the World Cup game between Norway and Senegal
Lee Ryder at the MetLife Stadium for the World Cup game between Norway and Senegal(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
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Chronicle Live understands scenarios like this have indeed been considered for Newcastle if they get the nod for Leazes Park. In short St James' Park would close out one final - celebrated - season and the switch to a new home would follow on.
As I walk back across the old sacred soil of the old Giants Stadium, now a car park next door, there is a tinge of sadness wondering what St James' would become. But if Newcastle are serious about competing, it's something that may have to happen, and sooner rather than later.