Newcastle United could be playing football in a brand-new stadium in the next few years.
Ever since the takeover in 2021, the question on many fans’ lips has been whether St James’ Park will be expanded or knocked down in favour of a new stadium.
A decision is expected before the end of the season and could be announced soon with the PIF set to visit Newcastle and attend the game against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Plans have been put in place for both possibilities. Newcastle United could spend as much as 1.2bn on a new ground in comparison to upwards of £800m to expand St James’ Park.
Newcastle were encouraged to leave St James’ Park by Simon Jordan who believed that fans would still support the club in a new stadium. Newcastle officials were initially believed to be happy to stay at St James’ Park given its city centre location. However, PIF wants Newcastle in a new stadium after seeing plans that showed the stadium in Leazes Park – a stone’s throw away from the existing site.
Everton fans were invited into their new ground, the Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium on Tuesday night to get a taste of what life will be like away from Goodison Park. While Everton fans were pleased, Newcastle fans were unimpressed by Everton’s new stadium – the capacity was a big talking point amongst many Toon supporters.
With Everton’s new stadium capacity a big talking point, here is how Newcastle’s proposed new ground would compare to their Premier League rivals.
Newcastle’s new stadium capacity compared to Everton’s Bramley-Moore Dock
Newcastle’s St James’ Park is one of Britain’s largest stadiums with a capacity of 52,305. However, the Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium will overtake that with their capacity reported at 52,888.
According to recent reports, Newcastle’s new stadium would have a 70,000 capacity – trumping Everton’s ground. Alternatively, expanding St James’ Park would give the Magpies a capacity of around 60,000 which would still see them overtake Everton amongst the biggest stadiums in the country.
Newcastle’s stadium decision is sure to divide the fanbase. Club CEO Brad Miller proposed two options to Newcastle fans and gave explanations for both of them.
Miller stated that if expanding St James’ Park comes with more money then it will be considered but he pushed more towards a new stadium claiming that it would have the potential to earn twice as much in revenue and “a lot more seats”.
Fans in attendance were asked to choose between one of the two options, to which it was reported that those in attendance leaned more towards the second option.
It feels like Newcastle have already made a stadium decision
While there is still speculation over what decision will be made regarding St James’ Park’s future, it feels like Newcastle bosses have already made their decision – perhaps without saying it aloud.
With Miller’s words coupled with the PIF’s mindset, it looks increasingly likely that Newcastle will be playing in a new stadium in a few years.
In the meantime, St James’ Park will still be the home of Newcastle United. The club will also be the venue for Sam Fender’s big Newcastle gig in June.
There were rumours that Newcastle could play at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light but that idea was shot down in a recent fan meeting.
If a new stadium was built behind St James’ Park, Newcastle wouldn’t need to relocate.
How Newcastle United’s new ground would compare to Everton’s Bramley-Moore Dock stadium
