Ambitious Newcastle United expansion plan for St James's Park floated by Mehrdad Ghodoussi

The club’s historic home has had a capacity of just over 52,000 for more than 20 years, and it was feared that a new development on Strawberry Place, behind the Gallowgate end of the stadium, would prevent future expansion.

However, work is yet to start on that controversial development, which was passed by city planners despite opposition from Newcastle fans.

And co-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi has revealed that the club is in preliminary talks with Newcastle City Council over a possible future expansion of the ground, which is hemmed in on one side by the Grade 1-listed Leazes Terrace.

"We’ll definitely look at expanding it,” Ghodoussi told The Athletic. “We're 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’ll look at every possibility.”

However, a new stadium for the club, which was taken over in a £305million deal late last year, is not on the agenda. Ghodoussi added: “Are we going to build a new stadium? No. It would be like tearing your soul out."

United’s new owners are also looking to upgrade the club’s out-dated training facilities.

A team of North East-based architects last week unveiled a concept design for a “community stadium” and training complex. The proposal was not commissioned by the club.

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