‘In limbo’ - Eddie Howe urges decision on ‘game changing’ Newcastle United stadium and training ground plans

Eddie Howe has urged for clarity surrounding plans for the future of St James’ Park and a potential new training ground for Newcastle United, despite admitting there is a ‘99.9% chance’ he won’t be at the club to reap the rewards.

The future of St James’ Park has been up-in-the-air for a number of years now, with the club undertaking and completing ‘feasibility study’ and correspondence from them suggested that a decision on the stadium would be made in ‘early 2025’. As 2026 approaches, an official update on the future of St James’ Park is still awaited.

Speaking at the We Are United supporter event at the St James’ STACK, Hopkinson claimed the club are ‘not ready’ to make a stadium decision.

When asked when a decision can be expected regarding the stadium, Hopkinson said: “I don’t know and we're not going to.

“I'm telling you clearly, to win the title consistently, to be at the top consistently, we've got to build revenues. That means we need world-class facilities where we can generate those revenues.

“St James Park, where it is as it is today in December of 2025, is incredible. I think there's still big opportunities.

“Whether it's renovated, reimagined, a new stadium, we have not make that decision yet. We're working on it virtually every day.

“I don't know when that will be. It's not today and I don't think it's next week either. But it doesn't mean that we're not working on this furiously.

“But the complexity around finance, project planning, when assembly can do that. This is an unbelievably complex project. It's a project that will be the most ambitious this club has ever taken on.

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“That work in order to be ultimately the success we need to be, right now that work needs to be below the water level. And things like announcing ‘this design’, we're not ready for that yet.

“To be ahead of ourselves in a formalisation plan is actually counterproductive to the ultimate realisation of the ambition. I don't think that's going to be a very popular answer. I'm aware of that. But I think this is the ultimate goal for this club.”

Eddie Howe urges clarity on stadium and training ground future

Whilst work rumbles on in the background, Newcastle United players, staff and, most importantly, supporters, have been left in the dark about what the future of the football club could look like. A decision on whether to extend St James’ Park or build a completely new stadium is a once-in-a-generation move and something that could dramatically change the future of the club.

Plans to build a new training ground also cannot continue to be kicked down the road and Howe has urged for clarity on the plans from those above him at the club: “I think fundamentally, if I'm looking at the club with a broader viewpoint, I think the training ground, stadium, that sort of part of the club, I think, has been a bit in limbo at the moment in terms of which direction the club's going to take, I think that would be a big step forward, to have clarity on that and to take everything into the future in a really positive way,” Howe said.

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“I think that would have a game-changing effect on everything. And I also talk about the academy and that, and the brilliant work that goes on down there, if we can move everything forward in terms of facilities, not that I believe facilities are the be-all and end-all, but they are a great way of setting standards higher and showing your ambition in a really clear and strong way of where the club's going to go.

“So I'd say that would be a game-changer when that happens. I know the ambition is there from everyone to make that happen.”

United’s head coach was then asked about what message a final decision on a new stadium and training ground would send to players and clubs across the world looking at the Newcastle United project. Howe responded: “I think it's important. But I think there's other things that are important as well.

“I think it has to be right. So I think if there is extra time taken to make sure we make the right decisions. I'm not across, of course, the day-to-day decision-making processes.

“So the stadium project is correct and it's the right one for Newcastle for however many years the club are there, then take the extra time. It's the same on the training ground. You need the right site, you need the right designs, etc.

“So I'd rather it was correct than rushed. I know that there's a 99.9% chance that I'm not going to see either in my position, but I'm still passionate about making sure it's there for the future generations of Newcastle, whether that's supporters or players.

“I think the board recognise how important that is as well. So I think the ambition is there to do it. The drive is there to do it.

“The work is going on behind the scenes. A bit of patience to make sure that it's the right solution for everybody.”

One further complicating factor to any stadium decision is the fact that St James’ Park will host matches in Euro 2028. That tournament will be played across England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland and Newcastle United’s home stadium will have group stage games as well as potentially hosting England in the first knockout round of that tournament.