Newcastle United’s stadium plans has been without doubt the biggest debate on Tyneside over the past 12 months.
Extending St James’ Park has previously been discussed as a priority, but that comes with great difficulties and has opened up the door for a potential new stadium to be built elsewhere; potential on the Leazes Park land close by.
With feasibility studies conducted and CEO Darren Eales admitting earlier this week that a decision will be made in the “near future” as to what we do next, fans are waiting to see what comes next.
Either way, “huge investment” is coming from PIF, whether it’s expanding St James’ or rebuilding elsewhere, and we’ve recently heard the views of former Toon boss Kevin Keegan on the stadium debate.
Kevin Keegan fears the listed buildings behind the East Stand could scupper Newcastle’s hopes of expanding St James’ Park.
Speaking at Gosforth Park hotel at a fund raiser for NSPCC, King Kev highlighted the East Stand as the obvious route to adding “10,000 or 15,000” to the capacity, but accepts this is “not going to happen” due to the listed buildings behind, which end any hopes of planning permission.
Ultimately, he feels it should be up to fans to decide; stay at our St James’ Park home and the place full of memories, or move to that “big league” in terms of attendance potential, boosting the club’s earning potential and offering thousands of fans the chance to attend games they previously could not.
“I know there are listed buildings (behind the East Stand), but if you could just put another side on it and get that 10,000 or 15,000 in it, whatever that would give, I think where it is, it’s fine. But it’s not going to happen because you have those listed buildings.”
“You as a group of fans, not the club, will one day have to decide whether you want to go into that next big league. When I say big league I am talking about the attendance level. Or whether you want to stay in a ground where you love and your memories are there. If you could get an extra 10,000 in, that is a lot of people over 20-odd games, so yeah, it is a tough one for you.”
Keegan added: “If I am being really honest, I get the connection with where you are now at St James’ Park. I had the same situation when I was at Man City all those years ago with Maine Road which had been allowed to decline.
“It was run down, and when we talked about moving to the Commonwealth Games Stadium, which is now the Etihad, there were loads of fans saying: ‘If we leave Maine Road, I’m never going to watch this team again’.
“They’d come with their father, and all their memories were at that ground, and I think that is the big thing here at Newcastle.”
Speaking at a Financial Times event last week, CCO Peter Silverstone discussed our decision making process, the two options facing the club and admitted a final call will be made “relatively soon” on the our next steps.
“We’re at that point where we’re deciding ‘Is it best to renovate and re-invigorate St James’ Park’ – which is renowned as one of the most atmospheric stadiums in the country – or build a new stadium as these projects have shown and other clubs in the Premier League have done. That is a decision which will be made relatively soon.
“What’s clear is we need to satisfy that demand (for tickets). Every week we have a very intense fanbase which is determined to come and watch Newcastle but can’t.
“So you start with the fans and how we can service most of them and then look into what’s the best option from that.”