Amanda Staveley issues Newcastle United stadium expansion update

The plan is to increase the stadium’s capacity to at least 60,000. Newcastle this year bought back a plot of land behind the Gallowgate End which had controversially been sold to developers by former owner Mike Ashley in 2019.

Without the option of building on Strawberry Place, it would have been almost impossible to increase the 52,305 capacity.

However, the club, which ruled out moving to an all-new stadium last year, is speaking to architects to assess their options for expansion, according to co-owner Amanda Staveley.

“We love St James’ Park,” said Staveley, who was speaking at real estate conference MIPIM. “We luckily bought Strawberry Place, and we’ve been talking to architects about what we can actually do.

“We desperately need to invest in the stadium. It’s just the most incredible place, but it needs to be fit for purpose.

“We create so much magic in that stadium every day, and every time there’s a game on, Sky (Sports) love coming. The broadcasters love it, because they get real content.

"There’s that sense of excitement that we have to build and deliver, because a lot of people can’t visit St James’.”

‘Significant’ spending

United’s owners started a rolling programme of internal refurbishments and upgrades after buying the club in a £305million deal in October 2021.

“On the other side, there needs to be significant investment in food and beverage,” added Staveley. “Food and beverage offerings need work.

“We have got to get the ticketing system right. There was a historical 10-year season ticket deal. Literally, every part of the business needs to be shaken up.”

Newcastle are also upgrading the club's outdated first-team training ground in Benton, but, as previously reported, the long-term plan is to build a new facility on another site."We're looking at developing a new training ground at the moment,” added Staveley.

Meanwhile, St James's Park is a proposed host stadium for the UK and Ireland’s Euro 2028 bid. The ground hosted three Euro 1996 fixtures, and it also hosted three England games while Wembley was being rebuilt.