St James' Park

[Whitley mag]

Exciting times ahead.

 

i also understands that stadium specialists who were contacted by the club in the early part of the feasibility study were uniform in their opinion that “bolting on” additional seats or adding piecemeal to St James’ Park would be costly and far from ideal in terms of aesthetics. 

It’s understood that an interim solution of a small increase in capacity or patching up the stadium – one of the options looked at originally – have been ruled out in favour of much more ambitious options.

[Tiresias]

Moving it is absolutely inevitable the money will win out. I know I'm not popular on this but leaving that location is absolutely heartbreaking imo. 

[Stifler]

2 hours ago, Heron said:

I was too and 100% understand this.

 

However, that is the risk we took. I lost all my loyalty points (around 80) and cannot get to away games.

 

I feel for you (and others like you) but I don't think we need say 20/30k increased capacity to accommodate those folk.

I can understand your concerns about leaving SJP, legitimate concerns.

Losing that historic bond, having a period of time where the atmosphere in a new ground would need to be generated etc.

I can see all your reasons to be honest, and I’ll not argue against those. Even myself, there are lot of musts that we require before I’d be ok with a move.

 

However I fail to see arguments of saying we don’t need such an increase in capacity. We honestly do. We have 100k members, we have at least 40k people on top of season ticket holders trying to get into each match. Some fans have already been shoved out for corporate, and with a 100 company waiting list for boxes, only more people will be moved on. We also do have to acknowledge PSR.

Arsenal are on about increasing their capacity to 80k, with more corporate facilities. Birmingham City have just announced that they want to build a 62k capacity stadium. Liverpool have rebuilt 3 stands of their ground in recents years, and will no doubt do the final stand soon.

Aston Villa will finalise their plans for Villa Park improvements, Man Utd will end up with their 90k-100k capacity toilet bowl, Everton are about to move into their new stadium, and Man City are currently expanding theirs.

Football as a whole is becoming more popular, and more in demand, heck we have nothing clubs like Crystal Palace needing to expand to fit in supporters.

 

 

Edited 5 hours ago by Stifler

[Nepharite]

If a move to Castle Leazes/Leazes Park is ultimately delivered it makes sense to me that the City Centre sprawl of Newcastle would organically grow around the new stadium. Shops, bars, hotels and the like would be built and connect to the existing center. 

 

 

Edited 5 hours ago by Nepharite

[54]

If Leazes Park is such a big issue, I have a solution, underground stadium 50 metres deep. The Council gets there precious park, and we get a shiny new stadium.

 

As an aside, @TBG i'm disappointed you didn't make this post. 

[Whitley mag]

 

 

 

 

Edited 5 hours ago by Whitley mag

[Whitley mag]

Newcastle chiefs are working on new plans to expand the site of the current training ground, Confidential can exclusively reveal.

 

A gravel area currently used as a car park and where some staff are housed in cabins has been identified for the planned development, which will increase the footprint of the Benton base and accommodate an ever-growing backroom operation.

 

We have been told the move should not be misinterpreted as the club deciding against a new training ground, but it is an indicator that a brand-new development is still several years away.

Indeed, we can reveal that the club have taken out a five-year lease on the Northumberland FA building at Whitley Park, next door to the current site. This is now being used by the scouting, media and communications departments.

 

Discussions about a new training ground have been commonplace among staff and players in recent years, given the cramped nature of their North Tyneside home. However, there is now an acceptance that many of them will not see a new complex during their time at the club.

 

We understand ‘three to four’ sites have been shortlisted, including land near Newcastle Racecourse - owned by the Reuben family, who have a 15 per cent stake in the club - while the others are ‘in and around’ Ponteland, close to Newcastle Airport. Chief operating officer Brad Miller is leading the project and Ryder Architecture were involved in some early-stage drawings.

 

Newcastle's training ground is set to be expanded after being planned for a number of years 

The likes of Bruno Guimaraes (left) and Alexander Isak (right) were promised the expansion when they signed, and now it is set to finally happen 

 

But while the plans will be ambitious and a much-needed next step when it comes to offering players an elite, daily environment, the delay is said to have frustrated some.

 

Everything I’m hearing as this process continues is that option two is the most likely. Indeed, when I wrote for Mail Sport last month that I had changed my mind and now favoured a move to a new stadium - instead of staying at St James’ - there were some inside the club keen to know more about a social-media poll I ran asking what option supporters preferred.

[Abacus]

8 minutes ago, Whitley mag said:

Newcastle's training ground is set to be expanded after being planned for a number of years 

The likes of Bruno Guimaraes (left) and Alexander Isak (right) were promised the expansion when they signed...

 

 

Confused. I thought a previous regime reckoned that players don't sign based on the state of the training ground.

[OpenC]

1 hour ago, Nepharite said:

If a move to Castle Leazes/Leazes Park is ultimately delivered it makes sense to me that the City Centre sprawl of Newcastle would organically grow around the new stadium. Shops, bars, hotels and the like would be built and connect to the existing center. 

 

 

 

 

I keep reading this but I just don't see it. Who's opening a business in an out of the way part of town that only gets significant footfall once a week at best? Where is the organic growth around the stadium of light? They wheel in the funfair stands full of sweeties and blue pop on matchday.

 

 

Edited 4 hours ago by OpenC

[Stifler]

1 hour ago, OpenC said:

I keep reading this but I just don't see it. Who's opening a business in an out of the way part of town that only gets significant footfall once a week at best? Where is the organic growth around the stadium of light? They wheel in the funfair stands full of sweeties and blue pop on matchday.

In all fairness, Castle Leazes Hall is being demolished for a student village.

The flats on Barrack Road are a disgrace for living standards in 2024. It would be much better that they were replaced with mixed use units (retail/hospitality on the ground floor, residential on the upper floors).

Matchday, and events would bring much more footfall to that area, as well as a bigger influx in residents, and students.

 

Even at the SOL, it is changing, with permanent facilities being constructed around the stadium, and ones that are not matchday dependant. I believe some of it is residential/student accommodation, with other outlets. There are 2 new pedestrian bridges being built, one going Sheepfolds, which has just been converted into a hospitality venue.

Another will go directly to Sunderland centre, passing the new buildings they are building on the river bank.

 

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Stifler

[Nepharite]

1 hour ago, OpenC said:

 

I keep reading this but I just don't see it. Who's opening a business in an out of the way part of town that only gets significant footfall once a week at best? Where is the organic growth around the stadium of light? They wheel in the funfair stands full of sweeties and blue pop on matchday.

 

 

 

Howay now there's absolutely no comparison here. 

[Disco]

1 hour ago, OpenC said:

 

I keep reading this but I just don't see it. Who's opening a business in an out of the way part of town that only gets significant footfall once a week at best? Where is the organic growth around the stadium of light? They wheel in the funfair stands full of sweeties and blue pop on matchday.

 

 

 

OC is hereby barred from Uncle Disco’s Biscuity Bonanza opening next to the blood bank. 

[RS]

2 seasons at a redeveloped Gateshead fc  with a 35-40k capacity while St James’ is rebuilt 200m further North and West than the current ground. Capacity increased to 80k. 

[bobbydazzla]

44 minutes ago, RS said:

2 seasons at a redeveloped Gateshead fc  with a 35-40k capacity while St James’ is rebuilt 200m further North and West than the current ground. Capacity increased to 80k. 

Guns n Roses play the opening ceremony of the redeveloped Gateshead stadium 

[Wallsendmag]

3 hours ago, ramirez said:

I think that’s partly to do with demand for the first two and obviously not a great look to have a new, half full ground. The Sunderland ground in particular was huge for a team of their size at the time, especially when freshly relegated. 

 

Tbf Boro sold out every single game for the first few years at the Riverside and they ended up expanding it.

[TheBrownBottle]

19 minutes ago, Wallsendmag said:

 

Tbf Boro sold out every single game for the first few years at the Riverside and they ended up expanding it.

True - though the SOS cost the same as Alan Shearer (before they expanded it).  Our new ground will cost a lot more - but I wouldn’t expect the club to be passing top much of that cost on; the idea should be to maximise revenues for PSR

[TheBrownBottle]

3 hours ago, Nepharite said:

If a move to Castle Leazes/Leazes Park is ultimately delivered it makes sense to me that the City Centre sprawl of Newcastle would organically grow around the new stadium. Shops, bars, hotels and the like would be built and connect to the existing center. 

 

 

 

That’s never happened elsewhere mind.  Not that it should stop anything - and I’m amazed that people would whinge about walking an extra couple of hundred metres (there are some right lazy buggers kicking around).  It would be adding about five minutes of walking time for those who currently are in the Leazes End.  

[TheBrownBottle]

Unpopular thought - the club’s owners won’t give a flying one re local businesses’ drop in revenues.  If anything, NUFC’s city centre location has a retardant effect on match day revenues.  I seriously doubt that the Saudi PIF would give a shite if the Three Bulls was selling 25% fewer pints on a match day.  

[gjohnson]

I dount it would even make much difference to local business. People will still go to the centre for food and drink before and after match....its not like there's another area within 80 miles people would go to instead. 

 

If people can't tolerate a a little extra travel time without a pint then they've bigger problems than actually getting there to watch the match.

 

[DiddyLevine]

So , let me get this straight . TynesideLife was wrong when he said there would be no new stadium built on Castle Leeezers ? 

[AyeDubbleYoo]

22 minutes ago, gjohnson said:

I dount it would even make much difference to local business. People will still go to the centre for food and drink before and after match....its not like there's another area within 80 miles people would go to instead. 

 

If people can't tolerate a a little extra travel time without a pint then they've bigger problems than actually getting there to watch the match.

 

 

I think it would be pretty huge. Right now people can keep drinking until 30 minutes before KO, later in some cases.

 

Full impact depends if it was walkable to town. 

 

In any case, the presence of the club is one of the city's main character features, so IMO it would be disastrous to change that.