Newcastle United St James' Park upgrade will be complete for 2024-25 Premier League opener v Southampton

The fan zone plan was first announced in 2023 with planning permission granted in September. Construction started in January 2024 with the first of 56 shipping containers being installed in March.

Now construction is nearing completion with the St James’ STACK set to be open ahead of the new season. There is no official opening date at this stage but Eales has stated that it will be open in time for the start of the new season on August 17.

Discussing Newcastle’s financial situation this week, Eales said: “We’ve now got a new [PSR] cycle that kicks into play because we had a couple of years where we were £70million in losses which meant it was quite tight for us this financial year until June 30.

“Now we lose one of those years with £70million [losses] so that’s good news for the supporters and the club - looking forward now we’ve got a new cycle.

“We’ve got new revenues coming online so things like Adidas, we have that partnership, we have the merchandise we get from Adidas, St James’ STACK is going to open for the new season, so all those factors help us.”

The fan zone is estimated to create 150 full-time and part-time roles, including many first-time job opportunities through the NU Futures programme set up by the Newcastle United Foundation. It will be open seven days a week throughout the year, providing a constant stream of income for the football club.

It has planning permission to remain on the Strawberry Place site for the next three years. Newcastle acquired the Strawberry Place land back from developers in early 2023 after is was sold by former club owner Mike Ashley.

Images shared by @SupportersNUFC on X show that construction work is almost complete with all shipping containers in place and lighting installed.

When finished, the fan zone will feature a central plaza, main stage area and various food and drink outlets.

Food outlets include Tiptop, Soji & Gogi, Dabbawal, Acropolis, Texas Smoker, Brack Burger, Davey’s Mexicano, ZZA Pizzeria, Yolo Coffee & Kitchen and Holy Duck are all confirmed to have stalls in the new fan zone venue.