Former Newcastle United owner Amanda Staveley and, inset, St James' Park
Former Newcastle United owner Amanda Staveley and, inset, St James' Park
St James' Park remains 'close' to Amanda Staveley's heart - but the former Newcastle United owner knows that the club will make the 'right decision' about their long-term stadium plans.
Newcastle are weighing up whether to transform St James' or build a new ground not too far away in what senior figures have repeatedly called a 'once in a generation' call. Staveley's partner, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, previously likened moving to away 'tearing your soul out', but that is a prospect the current hierarchy are seriously considering in order to further boost revenues and enable significantly more fans to watch the side.
"I know that the board, PIF and the city will make the right decision," Staveley told BBC Look North. "I know that St James' is a very special place. It is probably one of the places closest to my heart and the next few years will be an exciting journey."
Newcastle's match day revenue rose by nearly a third, to £50.1m, last season, but this figure pales in comparison to those clubs at the top. Although there are obvious caveats when comparing Newcastle's income streams with London clubs, Arsenal brought in more than two-and-a-half times' more (£131.7m) in match day revenue last season.
No wonder Newcastle CEO Darren Eales admitted this week that the black-and-whites have to find 'some way' to increase capacity to 'get us to those levels of revenue that we need to be able to compete' in a PSR world. Staveley will be among those watching on with interest after Eales confirmed a decision on the stadium is due in the 'near future'.
Staveley was speaking after returning to Tyneside on Friday for an event to mark International Women's Day at Newcastle Civic Centre and the financier is due to attend the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday alongside Ghodoussi and son Alexander. While Staveley is open to a return to the Premier League, in some capacity, the former Newcastle owner vowed her family will 'always' be fans of the club.
"It was so exciting just to wake up in Newcastle again," she added. "I always feel at home here and the love and support I get from the community is just incredible. It always makes me feel heartbroken. I'm so excited about the club, the community and the Carabao Cup coming up so it's a very special day."