Sunderland chief rules-out controversial Newcastle United ground share claim amid St James’ Park wait

Newcastle United are currently in the process of deciding on what the future holds for St James’ Park amid unprecedented demand for match tickets. The club will look at all possibilities, including redeveloping and relocation, with an update on the process expected in the coming months.

Speaking about the future of St James’ Park at a fan event back in November, the club’s chief operating officer Brad Miller said: “It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Do we invest and transform St James’ as we see it today on the site where we are? Or do we take that bold move and think about moving?

“We want to make sure it is a very robust process. So regardless of the outcome, I want to stand up in front of everybody throughout the process and say, ‘This is why it is a logical decision, with long-term competitiveness in mind.’ Because as you have heard a lot, it is all about revenue and PSR. We have to work hard to make sure we give as much money as possible to Paul (Mitchell) and the football side in order to remain competitive on the field.

“In terms of next steps, we are coming towards the end of the next stage, the briefing stage. There are a lot of risks and opportunities at St James’.

“We have to take time to dig into those and make sure we’ve got the devil in the detail — in terms of the programme, how long it will take and what it will do for us in terms of revenue.”

Since then, a report from Louise Taylor in the Guardian floated the possibility of Newcastle United temporarily ground sharing with local rivals Sunderland writing that a redevelopment of St James’ Park ‘will almost certainly prompt months of planning wrangles, not to mention the likely need to share the Stadium of Light with Sunderland while a potential rebuild takes place’.

Unsurprisingly, that possibility created a lot of debate online with both Newcastle United and Sunderland supporters revealing their disgruntlement at that possibility. However, Sunderland’s chief business officer, David Bruce, has ruled-out the potential of a ground share between the two fierce rivals.

An excerpt from the minutes of Sunderland’s most recent Supporters’ Collective meeting, shared this week, states that Bruce was “asked about reports in The Guardian of a potential ground share with Newcastle United”, to which he “confirmed it has not been discussed and would not be entertained”.

The process of either redeveloping St James’ Park or building a completely new stadium is a complicated one and a decision that the club will not take lightly whenever they rubber stamp their intended move. A further complicating factor they must consider is that St James’ Park has been listed as a Euro 2028 host venue.

Great Britain and Ireland will jointly host the competition with stadiums in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland all set to host matches. St James’ Park is one of six venues in England that will host matches along with Wembley, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Etihad Stadium, Villa Park and Everton’s new Bramley Moore Dock Stadium.