Newcastle United may soon have a new home field.
St James’ Park has been Newcastle United’s famous home for 133 years, but there has long been speculation of the team relocating to a new stadium.
Owners PIF appear to be accelerating plans to leave St James’ and build a 65,000-seat arena on Leazes Park. Newcastle’s new stadium might cost £3 billion, according to prior reports, however exact costs have yet to be determined.
PIF view a new stadium as one of the next steps for Newcastle as they look to expand the club’s commercial horizons in an attempt to raise revenue closer to that of their ‘Big Six’ rivals. The ambitious plans have been labelled ‘Project 2030’, with the Newcastle owners of the belief they can transform the club into one of the biggest in the world.
Leaving St James’ will not be easy, of course. It is one of the most iconic grounds in English football and capable of creating an atmosphere few stadiums can match. The emotional connection that supporters have to it cannot be quantified, but it appears that there have been significant developments in relation to the move.
Newcastle’s new stadium moves closer as new developments emerge.
According to The Daily Mail, the club is prepared to present their designs for a new stadium to the government, which will need to approve the initiative.
Downing Street officials are expected to approve it, potentially reducing red tape on a project that could create hundreds of jobs and boost the local economy.
Newcastle had considered redeveloping St James’, but those plans were abandoned in favour of relocating to nearby Leazes Park.
That would obviously ensure the club still have a ground in the city centre, which feels important. St James’ is the beating heart of the city, something that is fairly unique in football.
Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan is said to be fully supportive of the project and the next step is talking to both the Government and local authorities. After those discussions and it’s decided the plans are feasible, the decision to move grounds will reportedly be communicated to supporters.
Alan Shearer gets wish for Newcastle’s stadium granted by PIF
Club legend Alan Shearer looks likely to be pleased and it’s not hard to imagine many supporters would feel the same.
To say fans will be happy about the idea of moving grounds would of course be too much. St James’ means an awful lot to hundreds of thousands of people across generations.
Still, Shearer is keen to see Newcastle stay in the city centre if they build a new stadium, which would happen at Leazes Park.
That feels important. Certainly, it theoretically softens the blow about leaving St James’, even if not everyone will be happy with the developments.
