Newcastle United confirm £4m St James' Park upgrade after official capacity change as decision teased

Newcastle’s latest financial results revealed that the club invested £4million into improving the hospitality lounges at St James’ Park during the 2023-24 season. Most notably, the ‘Wings’ hospitality area in the Leazes Stand and ‘The Rooftops’ hospitality suite in the Gallowgate Corner were introduced for the 2023-24 campaign.

While there has been a lot of talk about expanding St James’ Park since the takeover, the hospitality changes have actually seen the stadium’s official capacity drop from 52,305 to 52,258 over the past two seasons - as confirmed by the Premier League. The club removed seats from the Leazes Stand and replaced them with fewer but more expensive corporate seats in the new ‘Wings’ hospitality area.

But the average fan won’t care about all of that, they want to know what is happening with St James’ Park. Will the club be building a new stadium or will the current site be expanded - and what is the timescale?

Darren Eales addresses Newcastle United’s St James’ Park plans

Those were all questions put to Newcastle chief executive officer Darren Eales this week. Last year the club announced that there would be a significant update on the future of St James’ Park in ‘early 2025’.

Now we’re in March 2025, a decision is yet to be made public, but Eales was able to provide some form of update on the situation.

“Firstly we appreciate your patience on this matter,” Eales said. “It's a huge decision for the club, something we've spoken about being a once-in-a-generation decision. It's something we want to get right.

“Having lived it at Tottenham, Atlanta, there's a lot of work that goes on in the background to be able to make the correct decision. It's a bit like the swan: There's furious scurrying going on in the background.

“So I think we're at a situation where we did the initial feasibility, we followed that up, we've discussed it with our ownership and we want to make sure we have got everything right, all our ducks in a row.

“We said that we'd talk with the fans and the Fan Advisory Board but this is an opportunity and ownership is very much looking to make this investment, we just want to make sure it's the right investment, strategically for the club, the city, the region and that takes us doing a lot of work, due diligence and making sure at the right time that we go to those external stakeholders as well and get everyone aligned.

“We're looking to get something done in the near future but I can't really say any more than that. Work is going on and I think you've seen it from just the general discussions we've had it is something we're taking very seriously because it's a hugely important decision.

“It goes back to the ambition of the ownership and the ambition of this club and what we want from all of us, which is to be a club that's competing there at the top level, in Europe and in the Premier League. We have to find some way to increase the capacity of the stadium, whether that's a new build or a refurbishment of St James' Park, to get us to those levels of revenue that we need to be able to compete in this PSR or squad cost environment.

“Also we've got this massive demand so we want to get more people to be able to watch Newcastle United.”

Newcastle United leaning towards building a new stadium?

The logistical difficulties of expanding St James’ Park were made clear to the club in a feasibility study conducted throughout last season. An expansion of St James’ Park to in excess of 60,000 is possible, but the option of building a new state-of-the-art stadium has gathered genuine momentum both internally and externally over the past 12 months.

“We’ve looked at the feasibility of what is possible and that is what we are narrowing down,” Eales added. “We are in that stage of okay, as we look at all the factors, that is the big decision we have got.

“Part of that is feasibility building wise, feasibility of making sure, from a fan perspective, we take everybody on the journey. That is our narrowing down now is which of those is the best option in the long term for the club.

“But also bearing in mind, we know how important Newcastle is to the city and the region, if we get it right it is something that not only benefits the club but the wider region. That is part of it.

“We don’t want to rush and do something that in 20 years’ time, we think, if we had spent a bit more time, that would have had a bigger impact. That is the analysis we are going through at the moment to make sure we come out with the best possible way for everybody.”

What Newcastle United’s financial documents say about St James’ Park & the training ground

Newcastle’s financial statements read: “The Group is continuing to explore a range of options in relation to potential enhancement or expansion of St James' Park or the development of a new stadium.

“Work is also being undertaken to determine the preferred way forward in relation to the Clubs' training infrastructure. The Group opened its new Fanzone 'St James' Park STACK presented by Sela' in August 2024 and trading has been strong.”

The document added: “In addition, the Club has also undertaken large-scale in-person and online fans forums to update the fan base on Club developments as well as numerous smaller consultations with fan groups in a variety of ways, including in person workshops on a range of issues as well as online meetings and broader consultations.

“The Club undertook a major consultation on the future of St James Park with CAA Icon undertaking a survey of attitudes and interest which received over 18,000 responses from the Club’s Fans. This consultation is informing the Club's initial review of its strategic options.”

The report was approved and signed by Newcastle chairman and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan on January 16, 2025.

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