'I'd hate' - Eddie Howe issues strong St James' Park 'betrayal' stance after Newcastle United expansion update

This comes after Newcastle released a progress update regarding the stadium. Chief operations officer Brad Miller met with the club’s Fan Advisory Board this week to discuss the findings of an initial feasibility study.

The club also revealed that their stadium feasibility study has entered a ‘crucial’ second stage - although results of that are not expected until 2025. As things stand, expanding St James’ Park to a capacity in excess of 60,000 is a possibility while building a new stadium on a different site hasn’t been ruled out.

When asked for his thoughts on the situation, Newcastle boss Howe said: “It’s a difficult one for someone like myself who people will want to know my opinion but I’m not based with all the facts. I’m not hearing the pros and cons behind all the decisions.

“I think my natural instinct was always to stay at St James’ Park. It’s an incredible place to play football.

“It’s our home, so to think about moving somewhere else feels a little bit of a betrayal to somewhere that has served us so well, but we are well aware that as a football club we need to increase our revenue so people with more brain cells will make the decision for the benefit of the long term future of the football club and that’s always the most important thing so I could be swayed but just my natural instinct is to want to stay.”

While St James’ Park’s location has posed significant obstacles regarding an expansion, its placement in the city centre is also a major strength.

“It is unique,” Howe added. “I always said when I was an opposing manager coming to St James’ Park the first time I managed there I was like wow, I’ve never managed in a stadium quite like that.

“It did help that we [Bournemouth] won the game because you always have positive memories on a win but, and I’m not lying here, this is me and my staff talking and we’d been to every ground in the Premier League near enough by that point and St James’ Park was one of the last we’d been to and yeah, it blew us away.

“It’s not necessarily the biggest, there’s just something about the look of the stadium and the feel of it. When you’re there it’s just a great place to play football.

"The positioning where it is in the city is totally unique. I'd hate to see the stadium move from its current position because it dominates the eyeline of the whole city and you can see it from miles around. That's really inspiring.

“Wherever you are in Newcastle, you get a glimpse and, personally, I always think to the next game where we are going to be there.

“When you're in it, I don't know how it creates it, but the atmosphere, the look of the stadium, is a beautiful thing. I love being there, I love experiencing games there and I love winning there. That's the best bit.”

With talk of leaving St James’ Park not completely off the table, there is a fear the club risks losing ‘something special’ should a new stadium be built on a different site.

“Yeah, possibly, but then I think you have to look at what you could gain,” Howe said pragmatically regarding a potential relocation. “You can’t just look at what you’re going to lose.

“What you could gain could be equally as special and the club has to move forward. It can’t be stuck in the past or be romantic to a degree. There are finances to think of and that will affect the long-term success of the club so that is why it’s not a clearcut decision.

“It's a massive decision because it will affect the next how many years of the football club. It's a decision where you won't be able to please everybody.

“There will be different opinions. It's truly only the people assessing the pros and cons that can really make the decision. It's very easy to give an opinion from the outside.

“Until you know all the facts, it's very difficult to. You've got a huge thing on cost, the extra revenue you could get, so it's a huge decision to make.”

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St James’ Park is currently the seventh biggest club stadium in England with a capacity of 52,258. It was once the second biggest behind Manchester United’s Old Trafford but has since dropped away with several clubs expanding or relocating to new stadiums entirely.

Saturday’s Premier League opponents Everton are set to leave Goodison Park to move into a new stadium that will make St James’ Park the eighth biggest club stadium in England. Leeds United have also made plans to expand Elland Road, risking Newcastle’s home dropping to the ninth largest unless the club are able to expand or construct a larger stadium.

But there a debate remains regarding an optimal capacity figure for the club. While St James’ Park is currently selling out, the club wants the demand for tickets to continue to be high and have some fans miss out, even in a larger stadium.

“I think conjuring a figure is difficult but you can see the demand is there,” Howe said. “I think you could have almost any size stadium you want to a degree and it would be full. Which I think it would.

“When you build a stadium you don’t want to see empty seats. You want it full of people. Go back to the Wimbledon game and you see a sold-out venue. That is the appetite from fans here and all over the world to come and watch the team play. Which is a magnificent starting point.

“It is such a difficult decision to say that is the blueprint of ambition. That simplifies the decision but I can only imagine the detail they are going through to make the right decision for the long-term benefit of the club.”