Intensity and emotion are what will make Newcastle's stadium special - not how many selfies visitors can take outside it
It is jaw-dropping alright. The three masts that can be seen from 30 miles away, the swooping canopy that sits over the new stadium and a public plaza twice the size of Trafalgar Square – no one could accuse the architects behind Manchester United’s “New Trafford” of playing it safe.
Perhaps, though, architects Foster and Partners should have approached it with a dash more caution. Because what they’ve created looks more like a high-end shopping centre somewhere on the edge of town than it does a football stadium.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his merry band kept talking about it being “iconic”, as if the challenge here was to create something people would want to pose in front of for their Instagram accounts.
The Ineos tycoon likened the proposed new 100,000-seater stadium to the Eiffel Tower, unwittingly letting slip how eager the Manchester United hierarchy are to pull in more tourists ready to open their wallets.
We can but hope Newcastle United’s board have been taking notes. A new stadium project at St James’ Park has been in the works for more than two years but remains shrouded in mystery.
There are, apparently, artists’ drawings of what a new ground sitting in Leazes Park and a revamped St James’ Park might look like doing the rounds – but the privileged few who have seen them are locked into non-disclosure agreements.
So I’ll just say this: I hope that Newcastle, unlike Manchester United, have remembered what the assignment really is about: to build a football stadium, not a leisure complex with an arena situated close by.
Newcastle’s new stadium doesn’t need a fancy landmark to make it special. It needs four gargantuan terraces built to keep the atmosphere in, smart technology inside the stadium, as many seats as possible and a design that is big on acoustics.
Soccer Football - Manchester United New Stadium Renders - Manchester, Britain - March 11, 2025 A render of the new Manchester United stadium Manchester United/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
Man Utd’s proposals have prompted a mixed reaction (Photo: Reuters)
Think the best of the Bundesliga, not some airy space more suited to a summer Olympic Games. And make it as flexible as you can, so that future generations can modify it or increase the capacity when the team starts to enjoy success.
Look, no one objects to trying to squeeze the asset. Regeneration makes a lot of sense and giving a facelift to that part of Barrack Road is long overdue. There’s a lot of cool stuff you can do and plenty that Newcastle United are missing out on.
Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) mean it would benefit from working seven days a week, which St James’ Park in its current form isn’t doing.
But the most important day is match day, and that’s not what New Trafford feels like to me.
Tottenham felt like a good blueprint and I believe Everton got the memo. Their “blue wall” is a smart, clever idea and the Instagrammable part of their new stadium is how close it is to the River Mersey. It didn’t need a big tower that can be viewed from the Peak District or a canopy to make it stand out.
Newcastle need to reflect similar values because whatever comes next has to retain the soul of St James’ Park, a stadium that at its best is a cauldron of intensity, emotion and history. It has steep terraces packed into a small space and a city centre location that reflects the super-sized role the club has within its community.
Momentum seems to edging towards a new build stadium among Newcastle’s support. Continually being bashed over the head about PSR and the frustration of missing out on tickets is swaying many supporters.
But it would only take a few missteps on a proposed new build for nostalgia to win the day and until images are released, it’s difficult to make a definitive decision.
This week has crystallised that. Get the proposed designs wrong – and the reaction of Newcastle fans to New Trafford is telling – and never mind the months of due diligence, it’ll be right back to the drawing board.
It feels like New Trafford is a cautionary tale to Newcastle’s decision-makers.