Wandy

1 minute ago, Danh1 said:

Aye absolutely, and I’d rather it did turn into that than people conforming. 
 

I seen people on twitter whinging about people being in their seats at away games the other week. That was a red flag. Just stand where you want. 

Have to agree. If nothing else it would properly highlight the problem and bring things to a head.

2 minutes ago, Danh1 said:

Really hope that isn’t true about people complaining about standing up.

 

Someone said that to me they’d be getting well and truly telt to fuck clean off.

I could see it coming to a point where there are scuffles. Will only take one "hardcore" bunch, who manage to make it to a certain game, then being lectured to sit down....

6 minutes ago, SteV said:

Tbf it’s absolutely the worst away end in the league for trying to generate any kind of atmosphere.

Apparently there were people complaining about standing up too. Sorry, but if I was at an away game and encountered that then they'd be getting to told to jog on.

There needs to be a new loyalty scheme introduced specifically for those who attend away games otherwise every match is going to be hogged by daytrippers.

Reading a few comments on social media from fans on their way home from West Ham, saying the away support was terrible today....." 5 minutes of singing after we score, then silence"..... Can't comment as I didn't watch or listen.. There is once again a lot of anger about the "regular" away fans now being prevented from going to games too.

12 minutes ago, Toon1892 said:

If you’re building a bigger stadium you’d still be losing more green space.

 

Planning isn't granted by “friends of Leazes Park” either.

Not necessarily. The current SJP site is a hefty plot of land that would be converted to green land.

And planning may not be granted by these groups but it was Dolly whats-her-face and her little band who effectively put the blockers on. The council were ready to approve it.

12 minutes ago, Toon1892 said:

Correct. It was just nearly because there were too many people against it.

Nah, it failed mainly because John Hall's proposal was to keep SJP as a (smaller) rugby stadium as well as building the new football stadium, hence the loss of a lot of green space. A new proposal could allow for a land swap, whereby the current SJP plot becomes part of Leazes Park.

The "friends of Leazes Park" group (or whatever their name is) have already said they'd be open to developments that help renovate the park and this could be such a development. 

19 minutes ago, Toon1892 said:

Really hope you’re right! But a billion pounds is a lot of money. Even for Saudi Arabia. 

I don't think money is the issue, to be honest. The way that the game is going NUFC may be worth £10bn within the next 20 years so dropping £1bn or so now to ensure the future value of the club could make a lot of sense.

I think the issue is permission to do stuff, but also the disruption to the club (and therefore the team) that might come from a move or redeveloment. But if the council came to the owners and said "here's the keys to Castle Leazes, do what you want with it" then I don't think they'd be too concerned about costs.

We could do what Spurs did and build a new stadium on *almost* the same footprint, ie moving the stadium slightly North-West to move away from Leazes Terrace. This would obviously mean a complete rethink of Barrack Road and would mean either redirecting it or maybe creating a tunnel wher Barrack Road currently is.

The issue we have with that proposition is that there will almost certainly be a period of time when we'd have to play at another venure...maybe for a full season, or even 18 months. They could maybe extend Gateshead Stadium to a capacity that accomodates current ST holders but that would mean virtually no general sale ticket sales. Maybe for that period of time they would need to bin off STs and make attendance by the ballot for everyone?

The other option of course would be playing down the road at the SoL. Unthinkable maybe at first thought but people might come round to it if they see what the final result of a new stadium would be.

7 minutes ago, Toon1892 said:

It’s out of the question to me and you but we aren’t the ones doing the feasibility study. All I’m saying is I think we should be careful what we wish for.

 

I know I’m biased but as part of city/ stadium experiences in the premier league, SJP is the best I’ve been to. 

The one thing I think we can rest assured of is that these owners are very aware of how unique and important the city centre location is to the club and the city in general. I don't envisage any scenario whereby they even slightly suggest that we should move out of the city centre, no matter what the feasibility study comes up with. And if that study does come up with a recomendation of moving out of town then I'd fully expect them to dismiss that recomendation out of hand.

1 minute ago, Toon1892 said:

Really hope they find a way to expand SJP as it is. Hate to break it to the fans that want a new stadium. I don’t think you’d get planning to build a brand new plastic fantastic stadium on leazes park. 
 

I hear many people saying build on the arena site. That’s owned by The Anschutz Corporation who paid $240M for it (that was only for the stadium and car park. More land would also need to be purchased). Our owners aren’t going to spend that much to knock it down and build a brand new stadium on the same plot. Any feasibility study would report that it wouldn’t be feasible. A feasibility study would suggest building on cheaper land etc.
 

People might not like hearing this but there are three options:

 

1) Spending a lot to expand the current stadium.

2) Leaving everything as it is.

3) Building a new stadium out of town, with park and rides set up like every other modern stadium.

 

I really really really hope the people calling for a new stadium fully understand what they are asking for. You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.

 

I for one would be gutted if we left SJP for an out of town stadium. Life and soul would be sucked out of the club.

 

 

Moving out of the city centre is totally out of the question and therefore if modest expansion is the only option then so be it. I really don't think that it is though. I would not be surprised if the speed of the club's rise has shocked the owners and they may be having a serious rethink of it's potential and therefore how much they are prepared to plough into it.

56 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

Winds me up something fierce that people pile into here clamming for a shiny corporate bowl only hours after those incredible scenes from the other night. I understand the reasons why but the idea can absolutely fuck the fuck off for me. 

22 minutes ago, Pancrate1892 said:

I completely agree. Wednesday night wouldn't have been the same in some corporate placca heap. 

We upgrade our house, let's not replace it. The cost is worth it

This is pure speculation that a new stadium would be definitely be worse than SJP for atmosphere. It's been well discussed on here how poor the acoustics are within the current design. And it wasn't the stadium that made Wednesday night so special, it was the people within it.

4 hours ago, Doctor Zaius said:

 

St James Terrace is Grade II listed anyway. It's not biting the dust 

Already been discussed in this thread but that isn’t the case. A grade 2 listed building could be removed, depending on the conditions. The guy who owns St James Terrace said so himself (and also hinted that he was open to selling it for that to happen).

10 hours ago, Kid Icarus said:

 

Sorry where does it say that?

Nowhere. It’s my own expertise talking. 

Seriously though, I think they could do it with St James’ Terrace removed. There would need to be a lot of glass and clever light redirection technology, and you’d probably need to remove the grass from the front of Leazes Terrace, but it’s doable IMO. And the club must think so too if they are looking at expanding that area of the ground.

1 minute ago, huss9 said:

even with the current acoustics, all it would take is to put in  standing areas in each of the three other corners and the atmosphere would rocket.

Fair point. Any expansion absolutely must come with a rethink of how fans are placed within the stadium.

1 minute ago, Doctor Zaius said:

I don't want to move like. No way. 

 

It's the location, rather than the stadium itself for me.

The city centre location is non-negotiable, be it on the current footprint, Castle Leazes or the Arena site. But everything else is up for debate, for me anyway.

1 minute ago, SteV said:

I’d say a 25% increase on a stadium already above 50k, is a bit more than modest.

 

But it’s a valid point on whether that really allows us to compete (on a stadium level) with the likes of Spurs.

 

The never ending modernisation v history debate I suppose.

It's not just about adding capacity though, it's also about adding and improving facilities such as corporate, catering & accessibility, and pitch views too. I don't see how extending Level 7 to Gallowgate and a small, additional tier to the East Stand does that by any significant manner.

Just now, SteV said:

He’s done well to knock something up with literally zero new information (apart from - if you’re being very generous - the estimated potential new capacity number).

That's not even new info. Mehrdad said himself a while ago that they hoped to expand to 65K.

I still think the feasibility study may be used as the reasoning to move/completely rebuild, rather than a modest expansion.

On Wednesday the club moved up a gear, you could just feel it, and I bet NUFC gained a lot of new fans that night. Will a modest upgrade to a creaking stadium really cut it, as football enters a new age? Not for me it wont.

I didn't think that SJP would ever get near the heights of the 1990s again but it got very close on Wednesday. Not quite as good as Barca 1997, but pretty damned close. That's not a slight on the support, who were magnificent, but more to do with the fact that the SJP acoustics were simply much better back then.

You could just tell it was going to be special on Wednesday though. In the streets around town before kick-off, everyone was singing on their walk up to the ground. And it seems most people were smart enough to ensure that they were in the ground early this time, what with all of the issues with ticketing.

The bar has been set now though. Wednesday showed that SJP can still be a bear pit, like the old days. So anything less going forward is now on the crowd. 

2 minutes ago, SteV said:

Has Luke blessed us with an actual article here?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/10/06/newcastle-united-st-james-park-expansion-65000-capacity/

They can squeeze an extra tier onto the East Stand, but only if St James' Terrace bites the dust.

Just build a new stadium man, it makes much more sense.

39 minutes ago, Greg said:

 

Yep - we are and will continue to do so. Meeting club next week - is on the agenda. 

Are they aware how unhappy everyone is with all of the new ticketing policies, ie being unable to choose your own seat etc?

On 28/09/2023 at 20:11, Infatuation Junkie said:

My pal from Swindon doesn’t watch footie. Cares nothing about it.

 

Came up with the family the weekend of the first home game.

 

bought three memberships and won him his wife and bairn tickets.

 

went and stated after. Meh. I wouldn’t go again like.

 

 

So my pal stopping a fan who bleeds black and white. Thick and thin follower and devoted Geordie from going to a match.

 

If that isn’t punishment. Your head needs a wobble pal. 

Which part of the ground did your friend get tickets for?

2 minutes ago, Big River said:

thought the atmosphere was fine yesterday, just felt like a standard match. although I do sit back of the Gallowgate which is basically a vacuum  very rarely hear the away fans, so if people saying Burnley were good I really have no idea. the acoustics are completely fucked.

 

in terms of the turnstiles, took about 5 minutes to get in, despite the massive queues. there's an issue with people queuing for the exact one on their ticket, or the one they've always used, when plenty nearby have next to no queues and bring you out in exactly the same place. it's the same every game. for the match on Wed, 60/61 I think it was in the Gallowgate sitting empty and there's hundreds queuing to get in the one next door. bit of common sense wouldn't go amiss to alleviate the situation. or some staff out there directing traffic.

 

they're not going to change the system back, so we have to look at solutions. another fact is the current infrastructure doesn't support the amount of people going to the match. going for a piss at half time can take about 15 minutes. getting out the ground even longer. the club need to figure that out before considering any expansion.

Exactly why a new stadium is required. Imagine what SJP will be like if they do somehow manage to extend it to 65K.

I've been thinking about the extension though, and realised that even if they do somehow manage to stick another tier on the East Stand the chances are that the majority of the seats will be corporate. That leaves just an extra 7000-ish seats in Gallowgate Level 7. Not enough for the true demand of an NUFC being ran as an elite club, and with shite views and poor accoustics too.

There needs to be a new stadium within the city centre. Or literally knocking SJP down, stage-by-stage, and moving the pitch north-west to allow a whole new design of stadium to sit on more-or-less the same footprint.

56 minutes ago, TheGuv said:

The whole situation is really making me feel disillusioned now. So much so it’s totally affecting my entire match day experience. I felt as flat as a pancake yesterday. It’s not meant to be like this. 
 

There’s a plethora of reasons for me feeling like shit at a game now. But having gone to a good few games this season - my main theory has to be that I’m randomly allocated a seat. I absolutely hate it. Every game, a different seat. Every game a different stand or section. Because you haven’t selected it you haven’t really got a clue where you’re going to be. Fortunately I have an understanding of the turnstiles, accesses, blocks etc. So I can find my seat easily enough. But lord knows what it’s like for people who’ve rarely stepped foot in the ground. 
 

Exactly. It's a shocking system in so many ways and needs to be ditched, pronto. There is no other entertainment industry where the customer has no choice in where they sit within the venue and football should be no different.

If the club are trying to attract a new audience to SJP then they are probably doing an awful job of it, as I imagine most people will be getting sick of the new system of chaos already. And a fair few long-term supporters might be considering jacking it all in and just watching on the TV too.

Maybe this is their way of addressing the capacity issue. Piss enough people off so that 52k is actually enough.

Wasnt there today but was in L7 for the City match on Wednesday. There was a real log jam at the turnstile there too. Atmosphere was as shite as I feared up there and I thought the general atmosphere within the whole stadium was wank too. City fans embarrassed us for noise.

I'm now fully of the opinion that we need a new stadium and I suspect that the feasibility study will show it too. SJP as it is is simply not fit for purpose as a state of the art stadium. Its lop-sided, has terrible views within a whole section and has poor accoustics. Rip it up and start again somewhere within the city centre.

15 minutes ago, ScottishMagpie said:

Thank you for posting that!  That's the SJP of my childhood.  Know it was a dump but it was my dump.

Yeah mine too. It’s nice to see match footage of the old West Stand at the beginning.

Watching that game reminds me how desperate those 8 years were between Keegan leaving and coming back. The club truly had no ambition, let 3 local lads leave to become superstars elsewhere and the ground was an absolute shithole. The Ashley years had their own kind of desperation but at least the club hadn’t slipped off the football radar altogether like it had by the time it got to early 1992.

37 minutes ago, Dancing Brave said:

Davey T legend.

Had no idea that his name was well known. Learning all these things nearly 40 years later.