Mehrdad Ghodoussi made a St James’ Park vow as PIF prepare for Newcastle United visit

Add as preferred source on Google

Newcastle United need to make a decision about St James’ Park, as PIF prepare to visit Tyneside.

The future of St James’ Park currently hangs in the balance, as Newcastle United officials weigh up whether to expand their current ground or build a completely new stadium.

Expanding St James’ Park could cost £800million, which is a lot cheaper than starting from scratch. However, a new £1.2billion stadium would be purpose built and better suited towards increasing the club’s revenue.

A new stadium would also be bigger, which would be ideal for those members of the Toon Army who are struggling to get tickets. However, PIF may opt against a new Newcastle United stadium, and they are the ones who will make the final decision.

What Mehrdad Ghodoussi said about leaving St James’ Park in 2022

It remains to be seen what PIF’s preference will be.

However, there are people inside Newcastle United who prefer a new stadium, which represents a major U-turn since Mehrdad Ghodoussi and Amanda Staveley left the club.

They always spoke about the power of St James’ Park, and Mehrdad Ghodoussi’s comments from February 2022 are now very interesting as the club weigh up a move away from Newcastle United’s home.

“St James’ Park is unique, special, the cathedral of the city, sitting on its hill,” he told the Athletic.

“We will definitely look at expanding it, working with the city and council to see what we can do. There are a lot of things that need to happen first, but that’s the way forward.

“If we can get it to 60 or 65,000 thousand, amazing, and we will look at every possibility.

“But are we going to build a new stadium? No. It would be like tearing your soul out.”

PIF set to visit Newcastle as St James’ Park decision looms

Less than a year after Staveley and Ghodoussi left the club, Newcastle United are suddenly considering tearing out their soul.

For many, it is the only way to increase the club’s revenue to a level that they can challenge the Premier League’s elite. For others, it is a move away from tradition that goes against the history of the club.

But the Newcastle United owners will make the final decision, and there could be progress on the situation very soon.

That is because PIF officials could be at Newcastle United vs Nottingham Forest on Sunday, as they prepare to travel from Saudi Arabia to England.

While they could be in attendance to hopefully watch Eddie Howe’s side pick up an important three points in the quest for Champions League football, they could also be presented with some stadium proposals to ponder.

It is yet to be confirmed if they will be at this weekend’s game. However, a visit is on the horizon, especially with the Carabao Cup final next month. Yasir Al-Rumayyan was in attendance at Wembley in 2023 when Newcastle lost against Manchester United.

Once PIF make their final decision on the future of St James’ Park, it will be interesting to look back on Mehrdad Ghodoussi’s words from 2022. A new stadium was out of the question back then, but now it is a very real possibility.