Newcastle United make major boardroom decision amid St James' Park redevelopment plans

South Shields born Roger Thornton has been appointed to Newcastle’s board of directors. Thornton is head of property at Motcomb Estates Limited who manage assets for the family of Newcastle co-owner Jamie Reuben.

A club statement issued by Newcastle read: “Roger retains a keen interest in his native North East and has played a key role in recent developments in Newcastle city centre, including the transformative Pilgrims Quarter project, as well as supporting property matters for Newcastle Racecourse.

“He also has strong family links to the Magpies. His grandfather, Ben Sullivan, was an administrator who moved from Lincoln City to relaunch the Newcastle United Development Association in the mid-1960s.

“Ben played a key role in supporting ground improvements at St. James’ Park over many years, including securing funding to build the existing East Stand structure which opened in 1973.”

The appointment comes after Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi stepped away from the club as co-owners with Staveley leaving the club’s board. Newcastle have also announced that chief executive officer Darren Eales would be stepping down from his position due to health reasons.

Newcastle are also moving forward with plans to upgrade St James’ Park having spoken to the Fan Advisory Board last week. The club have also spoken to Newcastle City Council about a potential relocation to Leazes Park with a new state-of-the-art stadium not ruled out.

An update on Newcastle’s stadium plans is expected in early 2025.