A promotional video shown to chairman Yasir al-Rumayyan indicates a strong preference for a new 65,000-capacity stadium at Leazes Park, designed by London-based architects KSS and estimated to cost around £1.2bn.
The video, shown to senior staff and a select group of fans, shows a shot of the green space surrounding the grade two-listed park and then highlights a new venue located further into the park than previous renderings, which would have overlapped with the current boundaries of St James.
Moving the design further into the park would mean the club could keep using St James while the estimated seven year construction takes place, solving financial and logistical issues for the team.
It may lead to a more complicated planning permission process, given the listed nature of the park, which is subject to a conservation order. However, it has been suggested that once built, green space could be reinstated on the site of St James’ Park.
An application has not yet been made to Newcastle City Council.
Speaking at an event last month, Michelle Percy, director of investment and growth at Newcastle City Council, said: “Come what may, [the stadium] will stay in the heart of the city.”
Architect firm KSS has worked on No 1 Court at Wimbledon and the training ground at Leicester City.
Newcastle has also located two sites for a new training ground, with American firm Populous designing that scheme.
In terms of finances, the stadium would be seen as an infrastructure cost and therefore would not be under restrictions from the league’s financial fair play and could be funded by owners Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
If built, the stadium would be the second largest in the country, after the newly announced Old Trafford, and it is understood that it would also function as a venue for concerts and other sports.
Other sports grounds, such as Old Trafford, have received investment from the government by making the case that infrastructure that operates outside of match days is an investment in the city.
The hope is that a new and improved stadium would help to increase the club’s revenue and help them to comply with the Premier League’s profitability regulations.
Newcastle made around £38m on match days during the 2022-23 season compared to, for example, Manchester United’s £136m.
Chief operating officer Brad Miller is leading the stadium project, who has previous experience working on the expansion of Stansted and Manchester airports.
The club declined to comment.
As much as I like the idea of new investment I can believe the cityzens of Newcastle and the surrounding area would want to see a grade 2 listed park destroyed.
They’ll never get an established park back. In many years from now they get an urban space with some sticks for trees. Then again it may be a car park.
Surely there are more suitable sites for a new stadium than this one?
By George Hall