Why Newcastle Need To Leave St James' Park.
Adding capacity to SJP or moving out altogether? Deep down we all know there is only one logical answer.
What Makes A Church?
Many years ago, when I was in my very early 20s, I spent New Year’s Eve at a house party with my parents and some of their close friends, something that we did most years.
One year, I can’t remember exactly which one, I was deep in debate with one of their friends - Pete - regarding, of all things, what constituted a church.
I remember arguing (probably very poorly) that the church itself - bricks, mortar, ancient building, being cross shaped etc - was vitally important to a church community. Peter, was adamant that the building meant practically nothing, that it was in fact the community and the sense of purpose that particular community of people had as a collective, that was truly integral to making a church, a church.
Of course, with time comes wisdom and I have realised for many, many years now that Pete was of course absolutely spot on in his views.
It’s a conversation that has really stuck with me. Little did I know that it was a lesson I could one day apply to the club I support.
Leaving St James’ Park
This of course leads me to Newcastle United and the current speculation around the future of St James’ Park.
Until fairly recently I was very much of the opinion that it should be St James’ Park or nothing. That the only reasonable solution was to expand St James’ Park as much as possible and be done with it.
I lived in hope that something revolutionary and unexpected could be done with the East Stand and that would solve all the problems we have with St James’ Park (as if adding seats is the only issue the ground has!)
My opinion changed in October 2024. The 13th October 2024 to be precise. That was the day the Chicago Bears played the Jacksonville Jaguars at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in an NFL regular season game.
It was a game I attended. And it changed everything for me.
Like every other football fan, I had of course heard about Spurs’ fancy new stadium before visiting and I was genuinely very excited to see it. But I was not prepared for just how utterly incredible it is.
And I immediately knew that the Newcastle ‘project’ can only truly succeed if the club builds something similar to Spurs.
For such a large stadium (62,850 capacity) the inside bowl itself feels incredibly intimate, which is an impressive feat in itself, and yes, the massive south stand is a fantastic design too which adds an element of uniqueness to the building.
But where spectators sit is not what sets the stadium apart.
It’s a stadium that has undoubtedly been designed to maximise revenue, which admittedly sounds awfully corporate, but the result of this as a fan is you are given an amazing experience.
Most Premier League stadiums, including St James’ Park, when upgraded or built around the turn of the century were all about how many seats could be placed in the stands. This results in the concourse areas of a lot of stadiums being cramped, concrete monstrosities.
Spurs, however, have designed the concourse areas to be large, roomy and full of varied food and drinks outlets where you actually have some choice greater than three flavours of pie, chips and crisps.
On top of that, there are huge areas for fans to hang around in and enjoy their food and drinks whilst chatting to their friends. There are seating areas and heating and in short, they have made it a desirable place to go and spend some time before you watch the main event.
The food outlets and bars even re-open after the game finishes which means thousands of extra fans spending money in an environment they actually feel comfortable being in. It’s clever.
When you compare what Spurs offer compared to what St James’ Park offers, you can see that Newcastle’s stadium is locked, and limited, in late 20th century design, and that is massively problematic if you have ambitions to conquer the league, and even Europe.
It Hasn’t Always Been This Way
Expanding St James’ Park, as it turns out, may not even be financially viable. An estimated £1bn to add less 10,000 seats doesn’t seem like good value and so leaves the club with a dilemma.
How can they generate more revenue, crucial in the modern era of football, and satisfy the huge demand for tickets that exists for premium live sport?
The only logical answer, in my opinion at least, is that a new stadium is a must if the club wants to achieve its goals.
And if that means leaving St James’ Park, perhaps that is something supporters need to start coming to terms with. We all have the connection and the love for St James’ Park, of course, but let’s be real. For most supporters in their 30s or older, the ground looks very different to the first time they attended a match.
As iconic as the huge, towering Milburn and Leazes stands are, they haven’t always been that way. When I first attended in 1990, the ground looked like this. I loved it then and I still love it now, but times move on.
What Actually Matters?
However, going back to Pete’s point at the start of this article regarding what makes a church, can something similar be said about ‘the cathedral on the hill’?
Is it the building - the bricks and mortar - that is the most important thing?
Or is it the collective community, pulling in the same direction around the club that truly counts? Is it the bond between supporters and team that is ultimately the most important factor?
In an ideal world St James’ Park could be expanded and modernised and we’d all be happy, but if that can’t happen and the club have to move in order to drag the club into the modern reality of competing at the top end of European football, then so be it.
Final Thoughts
However, I will finish with one final thought; if it is at all possible the club should be looking at Tottenham as the absolute ideal way of proceeding at Newcastle. By that I mean creating a brand new, state of the art stadium, on the same partial footprint of the current stadium - possibly using some of the land behind the current stadium.
We all know the importance that the proximity to the city centre holds for supporters and businesses within the city itself and everything should be done by all parties, including the club and council, to make this happen.
This may well be a pipe dream, I’m definitely no expert, but if it can be done, then this is the only perfect solution.