Newcastle United are set to announce a decision on St James’ Park’s future very shortly.
It has been a long and drawn-out process for Newcastle United fans as they wait to figure out what is going to happen to St James’ Park.
The ground has been the Magpies’ home since 1892 but they could soon be leaving it depending on what decision is made.
As it stands, there are two options on the table. Expand St James’ Park or build a brand new stadium. The initial feeling around the club is that the PIF want to stay at St James’ Park due to its city centre location which is truly one of a kind.
However, Newcastle COO Brad Miller presented both stadium options to fans but said a new ground could earn twice as much revenue and have the capability of holding more fans than St James’ Park, even with an expansion.
As a final decision nears, a new report has claimed whether Newcastle will be forced to play their home games elsewhere as new stadium plans are revealed.
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Newcastle may not need to relocate from St James’ Park
There have been many options considered by Newcastle bosses regarding what to do with the stadium and where they should build it. One suggestion was to completely flatten St James’ Park and rebuild on the existing site.
Others suggested moving farther out of the City Centre and building a later ground on bigger land. Now, according to The Telegraph, Newcastle bosses are now leaning towards building a new stadium, but want to keep it as close to the existing site as possible.
The report claims that the stadium will cost around £1.2bn with a capacity of just under 70,000, rather than the £3bn that was originally believed. The stadium would also be built in Leazes Park, just a stone’s throw away from St James’ Park. Mock-up images show the stadium will slightly encroach on the existing ground, on the corner of the Leazes end.
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Newcastle’s new stadium would be higher than St James’ Park, meaning it would still be a striking image of the city’s skyline.
The proposal could allow Newcastle to keep playing at St James’ Park while the new stadium is being built and would not force the team to play their home matches elsewhere. A temporary relocation may be needed at some point as it is not fully evident whether Newcastle will play with a reduced capacity while work goes ahead.
When can Newcastle fans expect a decision on the stadium
With these new plans in the public domain, Newcastle fans will be even more eager to find out what the club will decide to do.
A stadium decision was expected from Newcastle in March, but the Telegraph report claims that the club are still yet to make their final decision so it may now be delayed until the end of the season.
Ultimately, the choice is up to the PIF who will be providing the funding for the work. They will be presented with both options, but there is growing momentum behind the new stadium plan.
Reports in November suggest that when a decision is made, work on Newastle’s stadium will begin before the end of 2025.
It is an incredibly ambitious project which would give Newcastle one of the biggest stadiums in England.
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