Fresh image reveals Newcastle United St James' Park upgrade works as Darren Eales sets completion timeframe

Newcastle United are 'full steam ahead' with the construction of a new fan zone at St James' Park.

Last year, the club purchased the leasehold land at Strawberry Place next to St James' Park from developers after it was sold by former owner Mike Ashley. Newcastle then confirmed the announcement of the 'St James' STACK' fan zone that would be built on the site and remain for three years.

The club's latest accounts confirm an investment of £12.4million was made to purchase the leasehold land and upgrade the first-team training ground at Darsley Park during the 2022-23 season. On Tuesday, Newcastle supporter Rob Turnbull shared an image on social media showing the fan zone building work under way at Strawberry Place.

Newcastle chief executive officer Darren Eales told The Gazette that the plan is for the new fan zone to be open by the end of the 2023-24 campaign. "We're full steam ahead on [the fan zone]," Eales said. "Our plan is to get it open for that Spring, Summer time and we're looking to try and get it open for the end of the season, certainly by the start of next season to have that fully open.

"To be clear it's not just on matchday, St James' Stack will be open seven days a week and we're excited because it gives us more of that footprint. It goes back to our fan base and we've got this amazing fan base which is twice the size of St James' Park.

"The ability for us to have a footprint with St James' Stack to do events there and make fans feel connected without a season ticket is part of how we're thinking about our ability to grow the club and make our supporters feel more connected. It's not just on a match day, it's about what else we can do around the club 365 days a year."  The Strawberry Place land being back in the hands of the club has also reignited hope of a potential expansion of the Gallowgate Stand at St James' Park in the long term. The club are currently exploring their options regarding the expansion of St James' Park with a feasibility study taking place.